World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and Paris Olympics champion Qinwen Zheng kicked off their French Open quarterfinal on Tuesday in front of a nearly empty stadium. The sparse crowd sparked a familiar debate: Why are high-profile women’s matches not getting prime-time slots at Roland Garros? This year, the scheduling decisions at the French Open have once again raised eyebrows. Not a single women’s match has been featured in the night session, which starts at 8:15 p.m. local time. Sabalenka, along with other WTA stars like Coco Gauff, hasn’t been quiet about the issue. After her match, she joined the growing chorus demanding better visibility for women’s tennis.

French Open tournament director Amelie Mauresmo addressed the matter last week. She explained that women’s matches, played as best-of-three sets, can finish “really fast,” making it tough to squeeze two matches into the night session without risking extremely late endings. She added that the tournament doesn’t want to copy the Australian Open or US Open by scheduling two matches in the evening session.

Mauresmo said no player had approached her directly about the schedule. But her statement came right after Coco Gauff and Ons Jabeur spoke out about the need for a more balanced schedule. Gauff said, “I definitely do agree with Ons when, like, you feel what’s best for the fans, but I feel like we produce some high-quality tennis and we have some great stars on the women’s side who fans, I’m sure, would love to see.” Jabeur then wrote, “Honoring one side of the sport shouldn’t mean ignoring the other,” in a powerful social media post on Friday. And now Aryna Sabalenka has also joined the debate.

In her post-match interview, she said, “I definitely agree with that. I definitely have to say that, yeah, we deserve equal treatment, like you said. There were a lot of great battles that would be cool to see as a night session. More people in the stands watching these incredible battles. Just to show ourselves to more people. I definitely agree that we deserve to be put on a bigger stage, better timing, more people watching.”

Since night sessions were introduced in 2021, they’ve only hosted four women’s singles matches. In fact, the last time a women’s match was played under the lights was Aryna Sabalenka’s fourth-round win over Sloane Stephens in 2023.

While the scheduling saga continues, Sabalenka now looks ahead to a blockbuster semifinal. She will face Iga Swiatek in a showdown that has all the ingredients of a classic.

Aryna Sabalenka “loves” the challenge of playing Iga Swiatek

Aryna Sabalenka has reached her 11th Grand Slam semifinal, the most by any player since Maria Sharapova made the semis at Roland Garros in 2011. This is also her second semifinal in Paris, following last year’s run where she lost to Karolina Muchova.

Meanwhile, Iga Swiatek looked sharp as ever in her quarterfinal win over Elina Svitolina. The reigning French Open champ won 6-1, 7-5 in a tidy one hour and 41 minutes, showing flashes of her best clay-court tennis. The Pole has had a quiet build-up to Roland Garros, with no titles before the tournament. But her form on the red dirt suggests she’s peaking at just the right time.

Talking about the upcoming clash, Swiatek said, “Against Aryna [Sabalenka], it is always a challenge. She has a game for every surface. I have to do the work, be brave with my shots and go for it. She is having a great season. I will not lie. It will be a tough match but am happy for the challenge.”

Sabalenka, on her part, is embracing the moment. “I love it because I take it as a challenge, and I go out there and I fight, and I’m ready to leave everything I have to get the win. So I love those challenges,” she said.

For the past three years, only two players have shared the WTA No. 1 ranking–Swiatek and Sabalenka. Their battle at the top has raised both their games and delivered some of the best tennis in recent memory. Now, Paris gets the next chapter in their rivalry. The match is set for Thursday, June 5. It’s Swiatek vs. Sabalenka again. Can Aryna Sabalenka finally break Iga Swiatek’s Roland Garros dominance this time?