Aryna Sabalenka hopes French Open organisers have been persuaded to put more women’s matches on in the night session after her high-class performance against Naomi Osaka on Monday.
For the first time in three years and only the fifth time since the one-match night session was introduced in 2021, a women’s match was given centre stage, ending a sequence of 33 consecutive men’s contests.
Sabalenka’s fourth-round clash with four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka was one of the biggest matches of the tournament so far, but the Japanese star was outplayed in a 7-5 6-3 defeat lasting an hour and 27 minutes.
The victory means Sabalenka has reached at least the quarter-finals in her last 14 major tournaments and she has a first French Open title firmly in her sights.
“I think it’s really important that they put our match today as a night session,” said the top seed. “I think that’s the right move. I think the atmosphere and the attention that this match brought is going to show them that, for the future, they should consider putting, at least sometimes, women’s matches at night.
“So I hope that this is the beginning. It’s like we open up that door for women’s night sessions.”
Value to ticket-holders
Tournament director Amelie Mauresmo has repeatedly cited concerns over the length of women’s matches and giving value to ticket-holders as the primary reason for not scheduling them during the night session.
The Australian and US Opens both put two contests in their evening schedules but Roland-Garros organisers do not want the sort of early morning play that often occurs at those events.
Speaking to reporters earlier on Monday, Mauresmo said: “I think this match is the best match of the day. Multiple Grand Slam winners, so it was, for us, obvious this should be the night session.”
Sabalenka was also involved in the last women’s night match, against Sloane Stephens in 2023 – although it was so long ago that she had forgotten the occasion.
Jessica Pegula and Ons Jabeur were among those to criticise schedulers last year when they again failed to showcase women’s tennis during a night session.
“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 said at the time.
Jabeur added: “It’s unfortunate for women’s sports in general. Not for tennis, but in general.
“It’s a bit ironic. They don’t show women’s sport, they don’t show women’s tennis, and then they ask the question, ‘yeah, but mostly they [viewers] watch men’. Of course they watch men more because you show men more. Everything goes together.”
Naomi Osaka’s Eiffel Tower-inspired look continued for her fourth-round match against Sabalenka
Osaka said of playing at night: “I thought it was really cool. Obviously she’s really good for tennis. I would hope I’m OK for tennis, too. It was really fun to play.”
The Japanese star insisted she did not feel any pressure to ensure the match lived up to the occasion, saying: “Obviously you don’t want to be beaten 6-0 6-0, but that’s anywhere on any court.
“If I was on court 27, I wouldn’t want to be beaten that fast either. Shout out to the tournament for trusting us. I hope it was entertaining for people.”
New WTA chief executive Valerie Camillo met Mauresmo at Roland-Garros this week, where she called for a greater representation of women’s matches.
Serena’s comeback
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With Serena Williams announcing her return to tennis, we look back at her last professional match against Ajla Tomljanovic at the 2022 US Open
Serena Williams has become the latest A-list athlete to plan an encore performance with a return to competitive tennis after a nearly four-year absence for the 23-time Grand Slam winner and mother of two.
The 44-year-old received a wildcard entry into the doubles draw at this month’s Queen’s Club Championships.
She ended months of speculation over a rumoured return with a social media video captioned: “Good news travels fast.”
World No 1 Sabalenka said: “That’s cool. She has a really cool personality. She’s fun, and she’s a legend. It’s inspiring to see.
“I’m actually excited to see her play and probably face her, so it’s very cool. It’s very good news for tennis.”
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