Roland Garros, scorching weather not only on the court: new controversy erupts in Paris

Rolland Garros is experiencing incandescent days not only because of the over-30-degree temperatures that are challenging the organization and the players themselves, as evidenced by what happened to Jannik Sinner. In fact, a new controversy has erupted in Paris concerning the media and public treatment of female chair judges, who have ended up at the center of two separate episodes that have ignited the debate.

The most serious case involves Paraguayan Adolfo Daniel Vallejo, who was defeated in five sets by 17-year-old home idol Kouamé. Interviewed by Clay Magazine, the South American made statements that immediately raised outrage: “This kind of match should be refereed by a man, it’s difficult for a woman,” he said, claiming that a female judge would not have the “strength” needed to handle such a hot audience. Words that triggered very harsh reactions to the 22-year-old from Asuncion.

Parallelingly, another female judge, Aurélie Tourte, was criticized precisely during Sinner-Cerundolo, but in this case for purely technical reasons. Former world number one Jim Courier, now a commentator for the international version of Eurosport, objected to the French umpire’s choice to get out of her chair to explain to Sinner what options he had at the time he felt ill. A severe but gender-neutral criticism, also shared by the commentator alongside Courier, Mary Joe Fernandez.

Two different episodes, then, but which ended up intertwining in the public debate: on the one hand an attack defined by most as sexist, on the other a regulatory challenge that, however, complicit in the already tense climate, entered the same media cauldron. All this while the tournament continues to contend with extreme heat, which has forced several players to seek medical attention and has reignited the discussion of playing conditions during the hottest hours. In Paris, in short, it is not just the mercury rising.