Adolfo Daniel Vallejo claimed the first two sets of his match against French teenager Moise Kouame last week, but lost the final three sets to see his tournament come to an early end.
It was what Vallejo said following his 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 2-6, 7-6 (8) loss, though, that made headlines. He suggested his match, which was officiated by Ana Carvalho, should have been officiated by a man instead of a woman.
“It has to be refereed by a man, because it’s a very demanding crowd and you need a lot of strength to go against the crowd,” he said. “The crowd was very out of line, but I understand they’re supporting their compatriot. It’s quite an intense crowd and that’s why I was prepared; I already knew it would be like that and, to be honest, it didn’t harm me, but rather strengthened him.”
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Roland Garros director Amelie Mauresmo told reporters at the French Open that a 65,000 euros ($76,000) fine was handed down to the player, “representing roughly half of his prize money.”
The fine came after Roland Garros made it clear a punishment would be coming to Vallejo for his comments.
“The competence of an umpire is not determined by their gender, but by their professionalism and ability to officiate at the highest level,” the organizers said in a statement. “The outcome of a sporting event, whether positive or negative, can never justify or excuse such remarks. The tournament organizers will impose a significant sanction on Adolfo Vallejo in the form of a fine.”
Vallejo maintains he never disrespected women in general.
“I never spoke about women in general, I spoke about the referee specifically, who didn’t handle the crowd at any point during the match,” Vallejo wrote on X in Spanish.
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