Adolfo Daniel Vallejo, after his second-round loss to Moise Kouame at the French Open, said the match “needs to be umpired by a man,” arguing Ana Carvalho was not strong enough to control a crowd on Court Suzanne Lenglen. The remarks have ignited a sexism stor
For four hours and 56 minutes, Court Suzanne Lenglen was alive with noise and momentum—until Adolfo Daniel Vallejo’s frustration spilled past the baseline.
The Paraguay player faced 17-year-old French teenager Moise Kouame in the second round on Thursday, and it turned into one of the tournament’s standout matches. Kouame was roared on by his home fans throughout the contest, ultimately winning 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 2-6, 7-6 (10-8).
Vallejo’s defeat didn’t just stay on the scoreline. He took aim at the officiating, arguing the match should not have been umpired by a woman—specifically pointing to Brazilian Ana Carvalho, an experienced official.
Speaking to Clay magazine after the loss, Vallejo said: “This sort of match needs to be umpired by a man, it’s very difficult for a woman to do it.” He added that “it has to be refereed by a man, because it’s very demanding crowd and you need a lot of strength to go against the crowd.”
His criticism focused on the time Kouame was allowed between points. Vallejo said Carvalho was not strong enough to control the crowd cheering for the home favourite. describing the atmosphere as something that pushed play to the margins. He said the crowd was “very out of line. ” and though he understood it was in support of a compatriot. he believed it affected the match.
Vallejo pointed to the rules as part of his argument. Players are allowed to take 25 seconds between points, with a clock counting down on the scoreboard. However. he said umpires can use discretion as to when to start the countdown if there is heavy noise from the crowd. In his view, the noise gave Kouame openings to stall and reset.
“I think he took up a lot of time on many occasions, lying on the floor or stalling,” Vallejo said. “And it’s not normal for the crowd to be shouting for a full minute without any play.” He went on to argue that in a match where physical pressure matters. extra time helps: “In a match where the physical aspect matters so much. if you give a player a lot of time. he’s obviously going to take advantage of it.”.
Even with his complaints, Vallejo insisted the atmosphere didn’t break him. He said: “The crowd was very out of line, but I understand they are 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.”.
Carvalho is one of the most respected umpires on the tennis circuit, but Vallejo’s remarks have put the focus on gender and authority rather than only on the match’s fine margins.
The French Open are yet to comment on Vallejo’s accusations. Tournament organisers were contacted for comment by Daily Mail Sport.
French Open Adolfo Daniel Vallejo Moise Kouame Ana Carvalho sexism umpiring controversy Court Suzanne Lenglen
Wait so he actually said the umpire should be a man?? Like what year is this. Ridiculous.
I didn’t read the whole thing but isn’t this just tennis being petty? Crowd was loud, sure, but blaming the ref gender feels made up. Also 25 seconds between points is already short.
Honestly people are acting like it was only about “control the crowd” but he literally said women aren’t strong enough. Like does anyone really think that’s not sexist? And then he lost 7-6… maybe just say the match was intense.
The article is kinda long but I heard “Ana Carvalho” and “crowd” and I was like ok maybe she should’ve done something. But also if it’s about strength? Umpires aren’t even really doing much besides calling lines, so idk. Court Suzanne Lenglen is always chaos anyway, maybe he just couldn’t stand the noise.