French Open boss Amelie Mauresmo apologizes for saying men’s competitions are more attractive than women’s competitions as the former Wimbledon champion claims her comments were “taken out of context” and insists she is a “great fighter for equality”.
- French Open director Amelie Mauresmo said women’s tennis had less appeal
- She explained why the men’s games dominated this year’s Night Sessions
- The tournament boss was described as “disappointing” by world No. 1 Iga Swiatek.
- Mauresmo has since apologized and insisted she supports women’s football
French Open boss Amelie Mauresmo has apologized for saying women’s tennis is less attractive than the men’s game.
The Roland Garros Tournament Director had her say when she explained why only one of the 10 matches selected for this year’s tournament night sessions featured women.
Mauresmo, a former Wimbledon champion, had said: “In this era that we’re in – and as a woman, as a former player, I don’t feel bad or unfair in saying that – you have more appeal, appeal (in ) general, for the men’s games.’
French Open boss Amelie Mauresmo apologized for saying women’s tennis was less attractive
World No. 1 Iga Swiatek said the comments were “disappointing and surprising”.
And Mauresmo told the Tennis Channel on Thursday: “First of all, the comments I made were taken out of the bigger picture, out of context.
“And I want to apologize to the players who felt really bad about what I said.
“Again, I think that the people who know me, who have known me on and off the court throughout my career and in everything I’ve done, know that I’m a huge fighter for equality and women’s tennis, women in general.’
Polish world No. 1 Iga Swiatek said Mauresmo’s comments were “disappointing and surprising”.
The former Wimbledon champion insisted she was a “fighter for equality and women’s tennis”.
Mauresmo insists that the men’s matches were given priority in the Showpiece Night Session because the women’s matches are shorter, meaning players could potentially miss out.
She added: “In terms of planning, specifically for the night games, I said it’s really harder to plan a women’s game because we only have one game because we have to consider the length. I think it’s the fair way to do this for the ticket holders.
“To be fairer to the players – actually both categories – next year it would be good to maybe have the opportunity to have two games or maybe a women’s game plus a doubles game to try to find a better solution to everyone to be fair.’