PARIS - The French Tennis Federation has fined Paraguayan player Adolfo Daniel Vallejo for sexist comments made about a female umpire following his grueling five-hour defeat at the French Open.
Vallejo, 17, lost to France's Moise Kouame in a second-round marathon match. After the loss, he told Clay magazine that matches with rowdy crowds should be officiated by a man, stating: "It's very difficult for a woman to do it because the crowd is very annoying. You need to have a lot of courage to go against the crowd."
Blame was directed at Brazilian referee Ana Carvalho for failing to control the home crowd. The FFT called the remarks "unacceptable," declaring that "the competence of an umpire is not determined by their gender." Roland Garros organizers imposed a significant fine and strongly condemned all sexist statements.
Vallejo later posted on social media that his comments were taken out of context, claiming he was referring specifically to the referee in that match and not women in general.