Naomi Osaka’s coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, has shared his candid take on the lack of women’s matches during the night sessions at the French Open.
As questions about gender bias in scheduling grow, Mouratoglou claims Iga Świątek and Coco Gauff lack the superstar status of past icons. In a recent Instagram video, the Frenchman addresses growing criticism surrounding the tournament’s scheduling practices and questions whether the backlash is entirely fair.
Patrick Mouratoglou Claims Iga Świątek and Coco Gauff Lack Star Power for French Open Night Sessions
Roland-Garros has faced repeated accusations of gender bias in its prime-time match slots, and this is an issue that has been lingering for years.
The controversy flared up again this year when the night sessions, starting at 8:15 p.m. on Court Philippe-Chatrier, featured only men’s singles matches. Critics argue that the trend sidelines women’s tennis during the sport’s most-watched window, diminishing its visibility.
In his video titled “Are Night Sessions Really Gender-Biased?”, Mouratoglou weighed in on the matter, calling it “a big debate at the moment.” He emphasized his long-standing support for the women’s game, saying:
“I always loved women’s tennis. I’m coaching women’s tennis at the moment. I’ve been coaching women’s tennis a lot, probably more than men.”
However, he defended the tournament’s approach, arguing that criticism of the organizers was “unfair to Roland Garros.”
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Mouratoglou pointed out that day matches on national television offer greater exposure for female players than night matches, which air on subscription platforms.
“It’s better for women’s tennis for exposure to be during the day than at night,” he said.
Mouratoglou also pointed out that the tournament’s business considerations, explaining that the organizers want to ensure a satisfying experience for ticket holders, with only one match scheduled at night.
“If it’s a women’s match that can be 6-1, 6-1 in one hour, people are going to be extremely unhappy,” he remarked. He acknowledged the structural difference in match lengths, men play best-of-five sets, while women play best-of-three, as a factor in these decisions.
Perhaps his most controversial statement came when he discussed player star power. “People, when they buy a ticket for night, they want to see a superstar,” he said, listing names like Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic.
Mouratoglou then bluntly added, “You cannot compare [Aryna] Sabalenka’s audience with Alcaraz or Novak… If they come back and they say, I saw Świątek, it’s not the same. She’s not a superstar. That’s a fact. She’s not a superstar like Serena [Williams] when she was playing, like [Maria] Sharapova when she was playing.”
Back-2-back Paris semifinals 🔒#RolandGarros @CocoGauff pic.twitter.com/rTr2oo0B13
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 4, 2025
The French coach, who guided Serena Williams to 10 of her 23 Grand Slam titles, used her as an example, noting that during the 2021 French Open, she was the only woman scheduled for a night match. “She’s a superstar. Even if the match lasts one hour, everybody would come back home and say, wow, I’ve seen Serena Williams,” he explained.
In contrast, he argued that current stars like Gauff still have work to do to reach that iconic level: “Even if Coco is big, she will have to win many more slams to become as big.”
Mouratoglou acknowledged the growing demand for equality in tennis, calling it “a big trend” with many positives. However, he urged people to also consider the realities of tournament management.
“You cannot even think that Amélie Mauresmo would try to do something against women’s tennis. Makes no sense,” he said, defending the tournament director. “But she has responsibilities… to make sure the fans are happy, the tournament makes the money that is expected.”
Gauff and Świątek Shared Their Thoughts on French Open Scheduling Debate
Reporters asked Świątek and Gauff about the French Open’s night match scheduling, but neither gave the fiery responses expected. Świątek, the defending champion, said simply, “I understand, but I’m not making the schedule,” and declined to comment further.
Gauff offered a more thoughtful view, noting most women prefer not to play late after a long men’s match.
“There’s only one 8:15 p.m. slot, and I don’t think any girl wants to play after that,” she said.
She added that scheduling varies by tournament and that she wasn’t blaming the organizers, explaining that most events have two-night matches to avoid late starts.
Frankly, I don’t want to see the many women’s matches live. It is really slow after watching a live ATP match. Anyone who has been to Roland Garros (or nearly any ATP Masters or ATP 500 on earth) can confirm, the WTA matches are empty. People clear out to go to the restrooms, get food, walk around the venue, buy things, get player autographs, etc. It was this way in Miami, Dallas, Hamburg, and Barcelona thos calendar year. I saw the Fils/Munar match on Suzanne Lenglen a few days ago. It was an absolute madhouse. It was an post lunch match that was filled to the roof. Gauf followed. I stayed to watch our top American in the WTA. The place was completely empty. Folks just left and did not return.
Ons Jabeur and other WTA players are delusional. They are lying to themselves. Watch the Asia swing when the ATP and WTA tournaments play in different venues. You will never find a more empty place than a WTA event standing alone. You could bring yourself and 10,000 fans. No one is there. Those who have actually been to events know it’s true.
I’m retired so I can watch the daytime matches. But people who work, can’t. It would be nice to see a mix at night. I wouldn’t mind doubles either, but I’m guessing that’s not as popular. And yes, I was sleeping when Coco and Maddie were playing.
I am tired of just seeing mostly the top players. How about showing more of the top 20, and showing just as much women’s matches as men’s. It be great to see a match from beginning to end too!
I so agree
Women’s marches starting at 5am followed by another one at 7am. That’s too early here in US.
If the game was saved to be shown later, more than likely, the results would have already been reported and so it would be no fun for the networks to spend all that money in securing the contract to broadcast the games. For the US open other countries have to be up just as early to see those matches. They cannot go back and show the entire match for people who are not subscribed to their channel. We are lucky we get highlights. We just have to live with that. I would love to see female matches in the evening session as was always the case. Not fair that all of Djokovic’s matches are at night either. Of course he is not complaining because it benefits him
So right! It’s seems that in today’s day and age, it’s not enough, not satisfactory, to be “right”!