Paraguayan player Adolfo Daniel Vallejo has been docked half his prize money at the French Open, after he suggested women lacked the courage to umpire rowdy crowds following his defeat by a French teenager, tournament director Amelie Mauresmo said.
Vallejo blamed Brazilian umpire Ana Carvalho for failing to control the home fans during his second-round loss to France’s Moise Kouame, who triumphed 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 2-6, 7-6 (10-8) at a packed Court Suzanne Lenglen.
Adolfo Daniel Vallejo AP Photo/Emma Da Silva
He later told the tennis website Clay that “this sort of match needs to be umpired by a man.”
Vallejo added: “It’s very difficult for a woman to do it.”
Players reaching the second round at the French Open receive 130,000 euros ($211,210).
Mauresmo told reporters that a 65,000 euros fine was handed down to the player, “representing roughly half of his prize money.”
Organisers later clarified the fine was in dollars, not euros.
“For us, things are very clear. This type of remark is not acceptable,” Mauresmo told reporters.
Vallejo said umpire Carvalho from Brazil, did not control the spectators.
“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,” he said.
“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.”
Vallejo added that Kouame “took up a lot of time on many occasions, lying on the floor or stalling.”
“And it’s not normal for the crowd to be shouting for a full minute without any play.
“In a match where the physical aspect matters so much, if you give a player a lot of time he’s obviously going to take advantage of it.
“The truth is it’s also difficult for a referee to manage this situation.”