Stephens adresses Roland Garros scheduling - "They do as they please"

| by Kadir Macar

Roland Garros has already caught some criticism for the way they scheduled matches, particularly by putting only men's matches in the premier night slot.

Scheduling at events has been a prominent talking point this year with several events creating headlines with some questionable scheduling. A business primarily, scheduling is mostly done to maximize the amount of revenue it can create.

That's why we've been seeing very late matches in Madrid despite players not liking it. We've seen the same thing at Roland Garros last year until the matches were moved almost an hour forward this year to accommodate players better. The Italian Open didn't escape scheduling talk either but their problems were mostly related to rain delays.

Even so, all five days of Roland Garros so far featured a men's match in that premier night slot. Jessica Pegula was asked about it and she shared her thoughts on the topic with fellow American Sloane Stephens sharing her thoughts as well.

Seyboth Wild Confronted Over Domestic Abuse Allegations After Roland Garros Win
Seyboth Wild Confronted Over Domestic Abuse Allegations After Roland Garros Win

Nobody asked me for advice on what they should do. So it's their tournament. They do as they please. I'm on the player council, and we've had a lot of conversations about this, and we've had a lot of conversations about equality. Obviously your statement says it there, four out of four men's matches. That's not what we talk about. That's not what we're about. So there's really not much to say about it.

Today is the sixth day of the event and the initial night shift match was scheduled to be the one between Holger Rune and Gael Monfils. It won't take place as Monfils withdrew from the event due to a wrist injury. The match that will occupy now the night shift spot is the one between Alexander Zverev and Alex Molcan, an ATP one.

Tournament director Amelie Mauresmo let it slip last year that those matches simply generate more interest from the crowd which is why ATP matches are more often picked for that premier slot. Expectedly the comment garnered a lot of criticism. At least this year they are having ongoing talks on the topic.

Yeah, I think those conversations are always happening. During the tournament we all are playing the tournament, so our main goal and focus isn't preaching to them on what they should be doing.

Djokovic Admits 'Not Having Drama-Free Grand Slam Drives Him'
Djokovic Admits 'Not Having Drama-Free Grand Slam Drives Him'

Read the full article

Just in

Look at more articles