Tennis Player Receives Hefty Fine for Saying a Woman Shouldn’t Have Officiated the Match He Lost

Pauline FIGUET / SPP/Sipa USA)(Sipa via AP Images)

Paraguayan tennis player Adolfo Daniel Vallejo was fined $65,000 for saying that his recent match should not have been officiated by a woman.

Last week, Vallejo was eliminated from the French Open when he lost to 17-year-old Moise Kouame in their second-round match. Following that loss, Vallejo complained about the umpire’s supposed inability to control the crowd that was heavily in favor of his opponent. The Paraguayan took things a step further when he explained why, in his mind, women should not officiate matches of that magnitude because they don’t possess the strength to settle the crowd.

“It has to be refereed by a man, because it’s a very demanding crowd,” Vallejo said in an interview with tennis outlet Clay, “and you need a lot of strength to go against the crowd.”

In a report from ESPN, tournament director Amelie Mauresmo called Vallejo’s comments “unacceptable.” The report continued:

Players reaching the second round at the French Open receive 130,000 euros ($151,000). Roland Garros director Amelie Mauresmo told reporters at the French Open that a 65,000 euros fine was handed down to the player, “representing roughly half of his prize money.” Organizers later clarified that the fine was in dollars, not euros.

“This is clearly unacceptable,” Mauresmo said. “Once again, such remarks have no place here.”

At the time of writing, Vallejo had not commented on the fine.

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