French Open – Paraguay’s Adolfo Daniel Vallejo was eliminated at Roland Garros after losing to France’s Moise Kouame in the second round, then drew backlash for remarks about officiating. Tournament organizers said they will impose a significant fine after condemning his co
By the time Adolfo Daniel Vallejo walked off the court, he had already lost a brutal five-set match at the French Open. And this week, his exit is being followed by something beyond the scoreline: a significant financial penalty tied to comments he made after the tournament.
Vallejo, a Paraguayan player, was eliminated in the second round on Thursday when he lost to France’s Moise Kouame, 17, on Court Suzanne Lenglen. Kouame, backed by his home fans, won 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 2-6, 7-6 (8) after 4 hours and 56 minutes.
After the match, Vallejo criticized both the officiating and the conditions on court. He complained about the time Kouame was allowed to take between points and argued that Ana Carvalho. an experienced official. was not strong enough to control the crowd. “This sort of match needs to be umpired by a man. It’s very difficult for a woman to do it,” Vallejo told Clay magazine.
The French Tennis Federation and the Roland Garros organizers responded quickly. In a statement. they said the competence of an umpire is not determined by gender. but by “their professionalism and ability to officiate at the highest level.” They added that the result of a sporting event cannot justify such remarks and said the tournament will impose “a significant sanction on Adolfo Vallejo in the form of a fine.”.
Roland Garros also said the tournament “strongly condemns all sexist remarks, regardless of who makes them,” and pledged support for the match umpire and the broader group of tournament officiating staff.
Vallejo later pushed back. saying he had not disrespected women in general. even though his comment explicitly argued that a man was needed in that moment. “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.
For Kouame, the result was a home-crowd breakthrough that stretched nearly five hours. For Vallejo, the match ends with a sharper aftertaste: one remark about officiating that the tournament says crosses a line—and a fine that will follow him home.
French Open Roland Garros Adolfo Daniel Vallejo Moise Kouame sexism fine Ana Carvalho umpire controversy