A Paraguayan tennis star has unleased at a female French Open umpire after his loss to a local teenager, saying she was unable to control the noisy home crowd because she is a woman.
Adolfo Daniel Vallejo, 22, lost to 17-year-old Moise Kouame in a marathon five-hour match on Thursday, and told tennis magazine Clay that Brazilian official Ana Carvalho had allowed his opponent to take up time by stalling or lying on the ground and let the crowd shout “for a full minute without any play”.
“This sort of match needs to be umpired by a man. It’s very difficult for a woman to do it,” he said.
“It has to be refereed by a man, because it’s a very demanding crowd and you need a lot of strength to go against the crowd.
“The crowd was very out of line, but I understand they’re supporting their compatriot. It’s quite an intense crowd and that’s why I was prepared; I already knew it would be like that and, to be honest, it didn’t harm me, but rather strengthened him.”
French Open organisers responded by accusing Vallejo of sexism, calling his comments “unacceptable” and vowing to hit him with a hefty fine.
“The competence of an umpire is not determined by their gender but by their professionalism and ability to officiate at the highest level,” Roland-Garros organisers said in a statement.
“The outcome of a sporting event, whether positive or negative, can never justify or excuse such remarks. The tournament organisers will impose a significant sanction on Adolfo Vallejo in the form of a fine.
“The Roland Garros tournament strongly condemns all sexist remarks, regardless of who makes them, and offers its support to the match umpire and, more broadly, to all the tournament’s umpiring officials.”
Vallejo then apologised on Instagram on Saturday and said his statements had been taken the wrong way.
“I want to clarify that my comments were not meant in the way they have been understood,” he posted.
“I have respect for the umpire and the job they do. After a 5hrs battle I was very heated and with a lot of emotions, I apologise. I also want to clarify that I didn’t blame the loss on her, she did a good job throughout the whole match.
“I will learn and get better with this. I also have great respect for Roland Garros, the French Tennis Federation and everyone involved in tennis.”
Header image: Left, Adolfo Daniel Vallejo (Instagram). Right, Ana Carvalho (Stan).
