Victoria Azarenka criticised French Open organisers Sunday over what she described as an absence of equality, suggesting that apart from the even prize cash on supply males acquired higher therapy than ladies on the match. The former world primary misplaced within the fourth spherical to Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, ending her finest run at Roland Garros since she reached the 2013 semi-finals. Last 12 months Azarenka fumed at being left to “sit like a duck” and walked off court complaining that it was “too cold” to play, because the 2020 match was delayed to late September because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Azarenka once more took intention at officers following her defeat by Pavlyuchenkova, when requested concerning the scheduling of the brand new night time classes — with six of the seven to date that includes males’s matches.
“What issues me is when any person from French Federation is regularly attempting to say there may be equality, and solely mentioning to prize cash, which is true,” stated Azarenka.
“Everything else, I wouldn’t even agree for a little with that. And that’s disappointing.”
Serena Williams received the primary official night time match beneath the lights on Court Philippe Chatrier, however all night classes have been performed behind closed doorways as a result of a government-imposed Covid-19 curfew.
The French Tennis Federation’s three-year partnership with Amazon Prime Video that runs till 2023 means the day’s so-called high match is reserved for primetime audiences.
But the imbalance between males’s and girls’s matches chosen for the late timeslot has raised eyebrows, a problem difficult by the early exit of Ashleigh Barty and Naomi Osaka, and the absence of an injured Simona Halep.
“I feel there may be sufficient examples through the years the place we’ve heard remarks in the direction of ladies, the place we’ve seen two ladies’s semi-final matches taking part in on the skin courts,” continued Azarenka.
“I think sometimes you need to hold some people accountable for some of those things and not continuously point out to the obvious of prize money.”
“I simply suppose that generally generally issues listed here are made a bit too difficult,” she added.
“It’s just honestly a bit frustrating every time you’re trying to deal with the organisation here, it’s becoming ‘pas possible’. Everything you hear is ‘pas possible’.”
In an effort to appropriate the scheduling imbalance, Monday’s final 16 match between defending champion Iga Swiatek and Marta Kostyuk has been given the night slot.
Pavlyuchenkova, whose win noticed her seal a primary French Open quarter-final look since 2011, was, like Azarenka, a former member of the WTA participant council.
“I imply, I settle for it that we’ll most likely by no means actually be kind of equal when it comes to tv and recognition possibly,” said the Russian.
“I don’t know if I should really waste my energy and time fighting over this because right now, I mean, I’m doing my job, I want to win matches.
“And I really don’t mind, honestly with you, if I play on Court 2 or Philippe Chatrier. Okay, it’s nicer. In the end of the day what I want is to win the tournament and play good. I don’t feel like wasting and talking about this.”
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