The head of the WTA has hit out at officials at the French Open after it was confirmed that neither of the women’s semi-final matches will be played on the premier court on Friday.
Steve Simon blasted the grand slam in a statement in which he says female players ‘have the right’ to play on the biggest court. The scheduling at Roland Garros has been affected by poor weather, which cancelled an entire day’s play on Wednesday. With more rain forecast for tomorrow, it has been decided that both of the women’s matches will start at 10:00 GMT on the court’s Suzanne Lenglen and Simone Mathieu. Meanwhile, the men’s semi-finals will take place on the premier court Philippe Chatrier.
“There is no doubt the scheduling has been challenged by weather conditions and the WTA understands the scheduling issues presented at Roland Garros.” Simon said in a press release.
“We are, however, extremely disappointed by the scheduling of both women’s semi-finals on outside court’s. This decision is unfair and inappropriate. The four women who have played so well and made it this far have earned the right to play on the biggest stage.’
“We believe other solutions were possible which would have been to the benefit of fans as well as players.”
The justification to keep both men’s matches on the premier stadium concerns ticket sales. 15,000 tickets have been sold for each of those semi-finals. Meaning the prospect of moving one of those matches to a smaller capacity court could trigger anger among fans.
One of the four players to be affected by this decision is Ash Barty. The Australian defeated Madison Keys in straight sets to reach her first ever grand slam semi-final. Despite the relocation of her upcoming match to the outside courts, Barty has played down the situation.
“Obviously we would love to play on Chatrier.” She said. “For me, personally, I’m excited to be in a semifinal. It doesn’t really matter which court I play on.”
“I’m in a semifinal. I’m going to be ready to play. Yes, of course we would have loved to play on Chatrier. It’s a beautiful court. But in saying that, all four of us will be ready and prepared and go out there and enjoy it.”
Amanda Anisimova, has expressed a similar opinion to that of her rival. The 17-year-old stunned Simona Halep to become the youngest player to reach the semi-finals of the tournament Nicole Vaidisova in 2006.
“It doesn’t really matter. They’re all beautiful courts. Whatever court they put me on to play in, I’m going to be happy. They are all amazing courts.” She said.
Friday’s order of play
CHATRIER 12.50pm
Federer vs Nadal
Djokovic vs Thiem
LENGLEN 11am
Anisimova vs Barty
MATHIEU 11am
Konta vs Vondrousova
