Daniel Vallejo turned a draining five-set loss at Roland Garros into a bigger controversy on Thursday, saying the match should have been umpired by a man after he fell to Moise Kouame at Suzanne Lenglen Stadium. The 22-year-old, ranked 71st in the world, lost 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 2-6, 7-6 (10-8) after five hours on court, then aimed his criticism at Brazilian chair umpire Ana Carvalho.
Vallejo, who had fought back from 1-6 down and held a 5-2 lead in the final set before Kouame rallied, told CLAY that this sort of match needed a male umpire because it was too difficult for a woman to handle. He said Carvalho was not the right person for a match like Thursday’s in Paris and argued that a referee needed strength to deal with what he called a demanding crowd. The comments landed immediately because they came after a match that already had enough heat: the teenager on the other side was 17, ranked 317th, and the crowd in the stadium was loudly behind the French player.
The remarks were the sharpest flashpoint in a day when two female umpires came under fire at Roland Garros. Vallejo also said the crowd’s behavior did not hurt him so much as it helped Kouame, saying the noise and stoppages gave his opponent time to recover during a match in punishing conditions. That friction matters because Roland Garros has long carried a reputation for boisterous, sometimes hostile crowds, and Thursday’s atmosphere crossed from support into a broader debate over how officials are treated when matches turn tense.
There was no suggestion from Vallejo that he thought the officiating had decided the result; his complaint was about who should have been in the chair. But that distinction only sharpened the problem, because his words singled out a woman for a task he said required a man, even as he conceded the crowd’s pressure was part of what made the contest so difficult to control. Whether tournament officials take any step beyond the reported fine is the question left hanging after a loss that was already exhausting enough without adding a sexist outburst to the scoreline.
Elsewhere at Roland Garros on Thursday, Jim Courier criticized chair umpire Aurélie Tourte after she spoke to Jannik Sinner from her chair as he moved strangely and took longer than the allotted time on Philippe Chatrier center court. Courier said Tourte should have started the clock and called the handling unfair on Juan Manuel Cerúndolo. The parallel criticism of two female umpires on the same day put the spotlight back on the pressure officials face at the French Open, especially when the match, the crowd and the temperature all push the contest past comfort.
