Amelie Mauresmo: An Apology for belittling Women’s Tennis

Amelie Mauresmo, the director of the French Open, has apologized for remarking that women’s tennis isn’t as appealing as men’s tennis, claiming that her remarks were taken out of context.

The comments were made as questions concerning match scheduling were raised. From the first Monday to the quarter-finals, the claycourt Grand Slam featured one night match every day at 2100 local time (1900GMT).

Nine of the ten games planned for a night session, however, have been men’s matches, raising questions about how women have been treated unfairly in major championships.

In answer to scheduling questions, Mauresmo stated that men’s matches have more ‘appeal.’

“First and foremost, the words that I said were taken out of context,” former Grand Slam champion Mauresmo said on Tennis Channel on Thursday.

“I also want to apologize to the players who were hurt by what I said.”

“I think people who know me, who’ve known me on and off the court, throughout my career, throughout everything I’ve done, know that I’m a major fighter for equal rights and women’s tennis, in general.”

For viewers with a single ticket for the evening only, Mauresmo said it was impossible to place solely women’s players on the program, adding that the event will look at altering the arrangement next year.

“In terms of scheduling, particularly for night matches, my opinion is that because we only have one match, it’s much more difficult to organize a woman’s match because we have to consider the length,” Mauresmo remarked.

“For the ticketholders, it’s the right thing to do.”

“It would be wonderful to have the option of having two matches or a women’s match plus a doubles match next year to be more equitable to the women’s players.”