Tunisian tennis star Ons Jabeur has publicly criticized the French Open (Roland Garros) for consistently excluding women's matches from primetime night sessions since their introduction in 2021. She argues this reflects a broader issue in women's sports, contributes to lower viewership for women's tennis, and questions the French Tennis Federation president's rationale that scheduling is dictated by what is 'better for spectators,' highlighting missed opportunities for high-profile women's matches.
Ons Jabeur hits out at lack of women’s matches in French Open primetime slots
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TL;DR: Key points with love ❤️Tunisian tennis star Ons Jabeur has publicly criticized the French Open (Roland Garros) for consistently excluding women's matches from primetime night sessions since their introduction in 2021. She argues this reflects a broader issue in women's sports, contributes to lower viewership for women's tennis, and questions the French Tennis Federation president's rationale that scheduling is dictated by what is 'better for spectators,' highlighting missed opportunities for high-profile women's matches.
Trending- 1 2021: The French Open introduced night-session matches.
- 2 Last year (2024): All 11 primetime TV slot matches featured men.
- 3 This year (2025): The three primetime matches so far have featured men.
- 4 Wednesday (of article publication week): Holger Rune vs. Emilio Nava is scheduled for the night session.
- 5 Tuesday (of article publication week): Ons Jabeur suffered a first-round exit at Roland Garros.
- Public criticism of French Open scheduling practices
- Renewed debate about gender equality and representation in sports broadcasting
- Potential pressure on tennis federations and broadcasters to re-evaluate their scheduling decisions
- Increased awareness of the disparity in primetime slots for women's tennis
What: Ons Jabeur criticized the French Open (Roland Garros) for consistently excluding women's matches from primetime night sessions, arguing it's a disservice to women's tennis and sports in general, and contributes to lower viewership for women's matches.
When: The French Open introduced night-session matches in 2021. Last year (2024), all 11 primetime TV slot matches featured men. So far this year (2025), the three primetime matches have also featured men. Wednesday night's match is scheduled to be Holger Rune against Emilio Nava. Jabeur suffered a first-round exit on Tuesday (of article publication week).
Where: Roland Garros, Paris, France.
Why: The French Open's scheduling prioritizes men's matches for primetime slots, which Jabeur believes is unfair, hinders the visibility and growth of women's tennis, and is based on a flawed premise that men's matches are inherently 'better for spectators.'
How: Jabeur publicly voiced her criticism, highlighting the disparity in scheduling and questioning the decision-makers' perspective, particularly the French Tennis Federation president's comments. She cited examples of high-profile women's matches that should have been in primetime slots.