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Amelie Mauresmo (here May 25, 2023 in Paris) says she is rather satisfied with this fortnight of Roland-Garros even if for the players, there is still a long way to go in terms of equality in representation.
ROLAND-GARROS – Women’s tennis still too much ” underrated “. This Sunday, June 11, Amélie Mauresmo, the director of Roland-Garros since 2021, took stock of this tournament in front of the press. According to her, this edition is generally positive with a record number of spectators: more than 630,000.
But the competition is still lagging behind on certain subjects, in particular that of the visibility of female athletes compared to that of men.
So to counter this unjustifiable disparity, the former world number 1 is in favor of extending the women’s game. And even ready to make a women’s final in 5 sets, as is the case for male athletes (who play in 3 winning sets, against 2 for women). According to her, it is “an interesting avenue to explore”.
But according to the tournament director, changing the organization of Roland-Garros also involves an agreement with the four other Grand Slam tournaments: “ It won’t happen overnight, it would take some preparation, but I think it would be something very interesting.” she said at a press conference this Sunday, as reported franceinfo.
On the sports side, there is also misunderstanding. American Jessica Pegula spoke on BBC Sports last week about this and lamented that women’s tennis is still too ” underrated “.
A survey by Franceinfo in 2019 reminded us of how hard the stereotypes about women in tennis are, such as: the so-called lack of endurance, the difficulty of programming or the fact that it is less of a seller compared to the male game.
“I agree that we could do better”
But aligning the playing time of women and men also involves the number of matches and the schedule of programming. “I’m comfortable with the daytime programming, but I agree that we could do better on the evening sessions” admits Amélie Mauresmo, at a press conference on Sunday.
A position that clashes given his previous statements on the same subject: “In our era, and as a woman, also as a former player, I don’t feel bad or I don’t find it unfair to say that currently there is more attraction for men’s matches” she said in 2022.
Remarks not very well received at the time, in particular by the Polish player Iga Swiatek: “It’s a little disappointing and surprising because she also comes from the women’s circuit”.
However, the former athlete persists in the fact that sportswomen do not always want to compete at late hours: “We would also have liked to put some of the top ranked players in the night session, but they don’t always want to and if we can, we try to listen to their wishes”
Towards more women’s matches in the evening and finals in 5 sets? Amélie Mauresmo seems in any case to open the debate and show her agreement for a radical change.
See also on Le HuffPost :
2023-06-12 10:16:08
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