Coco Gauff’s Scheduling Callout Gains Momentum as American Pro Blasts French Open Logic

Remember the last time a women’s night match lit up the French Open? It was all the way back in 2023 when Aryna Sabalenka defeated Sloane Stephens in the Round of 16. Since then, only 4 women’s matches have graced the night slot, a glaring contrast fueling recent criticism. After Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur ignited the debate, tournament director Amélie Mauresmo defended the status quo, citing the men’s best-of-five format as a ratings magnet. “For me, the message is not changing, and it has never been that the girls are not worthy to play at night. It’s never been this,” she emphasized. And while players like Coco Gauff have also joined the debate, American ex-pro Chanda Rubin also stepped in, offering a broader, nuanced perspective on the controversy and possibly some overdue clarity. Wondering what the veteran said?

The ongoing scheduling controversy at Roland Garros has sparked debate, especially after Tunisian star Ons Jabeur first raised the issue. “It’s still sad that we are still seeing this. I keep standing by my words. In Europe, in general, it’s unfortunate for women’s sports in general,” she said following her exit. She also released a written statement on her social media. Soon after, American top seed Coco Gauff echoed the concerns after her 2nd-round win over Tereza Valentova, 6-2, 6-4.

“I talked about this a few days ago, and to be honest, I didn’t really have all the facts about the situation,” Gauff said. “I do think that women’s matches are worthy of a night spot.” While many WTA stars continue to criticize the tournament director and slam the scheduling as a “shame,”

Former American pro Chanda Rubin recently weighed in on the growing night session controversy at the French Open during the Tennis Channel Live Podcast. “I think when they conceived of this night session, which is really just one match, and with the start time of it, when they conceived of it, they knew that they didn’t really care about having the women play in this spot, in this slot, because of the time. I understand wanting to have at least three sets, a minimum of three sets, when you have one match that you’re selling for a session. The question is, why are they doing that?” she added.

The 49-year-old further questioned the scheduling decisions, particularly the unusually late 8:20 pm start time, which she believes could easily be adjusted to accommodate both men’s and women’s matches. “Why did they move to a session that starts at 8:20 at night when this has been done for tournaments for decades now?” Rubin asked. “You have a night session; you start at a certain time, you can have a couple of matches, you can play a women’s match, you can play a men’s match, and there is no issue. So I just think with the FFT, they’ve put themselves, as you mentioned, Tracy, they have put themselves in a real bind.”

Rubin also called out the optics of having tournament director Mauresmo serve as the public face of the issue. “And unfortunately for me, they’ve got Amelie Mauresmo going out as the face of this decision when it was made before she even became tournament director,” she added. “And yes, putting a woman there to explain it makes it go, I guess, across a lot easier than if you had a man in that position explaining that decision. But I just think it’s just poorly done all the way around and hopefully we can find a solution to not have the optics look as bad as they do.”

And wait! Now, with Coco Gauff and others already speaking out, Jessica Pegula has joined the chorus of voices calling for fairer scheduling. Any guess what she had to say next?

Top Comment by Excaspat

Ok for Gaugh But really best of three ?. If anyone buys a ticket for a late women’s match and it’s a...more

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Jessica Pegula Slams Roland Garros Over Women’s Scheduling

 Since the French Open introduced night matches in 2022, men have dominated prime-time slots, with 32 of the 34 matches assigned to them. Conversely, the four 2025 opening slots, which usually have the lowest attendance, were all assigned to women. Unlike the US Open and AO, which both feature two-night matches, one men’s and one women’s, Roland Garros offers only one prime-time match. Despite the controversy, Jessica Pegula, victorious over Markéta Vondroušová, joined Coco Gauff, Ons Jabeur, and Iga Świątek in expressing their concerns.

“We are an event that is supposed to be equal. Slams, it’s supposed to be equal. Why not give us some more chances to be?” Pegula added following her 3rd-round victory. “But again, it feels like just hitting my head against the wall because I feel like we have been talking about this for two, three, four [years], probably forever, to be honest, because it’s never been equal.”

When asked about the scheduling, men’s top seed, Jannik Sinner, also responded, “Look, we don’t make the schedule. We are players and we don’t make the schedule.”

With tension rising and Amélie Mauresmo already in the spotlight, the debate intensifies. What’s your take on this growing controversy? Share your thoughts below!