NEW DELHI: Tunisian star Ons Jabeur didn't mince words when she criticized French Open organizers on Tuesday, pointing out the absence of women's matches in the night sessions and the resulting historically late finishes.
Remarkably, all 10 of the night matches at Roland Garros this year have featured men's ties. This pattern has led to a couple of the latest finishes in the tournament's history.
Jabeur's quarter-final match against Coco Gauff began at 11:00 am local time (0900 GMT) in Paris on Tuesday, with the early phases played in front of mostly empty seats on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Initially, the central court's schedule during the first week began later, at midday, but it was adjusted forward, seemingly to avoid late endings.
However, given the sunny weather after the rainy opening week, this adjustment has potentially resulted in significant gaps between matches.
"I would have loved a quarter-final at night, not at 11:00 am. For me, doesn't make sense," three-time Grand Slam finalist Jabeur said when asked about the night sessions, introduced in 2021 as part of a lucrative deal with Prime Video.
"I wish I can see the contract time between both Prime and here to know what's the deal there.
"There were a lot of good women's matches. Obviously not four hours, but who said it's healthy to play past 1:00 am, and who said the stadium was full for 1:00 am or 2:00 am? I don't know who is watching the matches at that time."
Novak Djokovic's third-round triumph over Lorenzo Musetti concluded at a record 3:07 am local time on Sunday morning, while Alexander Zverev's match against Holger Rune stretched until 1:40 am on Tuesday morning.
Following his late-night victory, Djokovic faced a knee injury in his subsequent match on Monday, hinting at the possibility of withdrawing from the event before reaching the quarter-finals.
Zverev's encounter with Rune commenced in front of a packed audience, but a considerable portion of spectators had departed by the time the German clinched a five-set triumph.
It's worth noting that the Paris metro system shuts down around 12:30 am local time on weekdays, posing logistical challenges for attendees of such late matches.
"We deserve a better scheduling. We talked about this in Australia. We are still talking about this here," added Jabeur.
"Even for you, the journalists, I don't think it's healthy to have these night matches. It's for everybody I'm speaking...
"We have to find a way out so that everybody is happy -- the players, the journalists, the full team.
"The ball kids are young and they're still on the courts when it's really late. I don't know if it's logical to have all that."
If a men's quarter-final is slated for the 11th and final late slot on Wednesday, it would mark the first time in French Open history that not a single women's match has been included in the night sessions since their inception.
(With AFP inputs)
