Daniel Vallejo has caused a stir after suggesting that the use of a female umpire for his second round match at the French Open was unsuitable and that a man should have been in charge.
The world No.71 claims that official Ana Carvalho was unable to control the crowd because she was a woman during his marathon 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 2-6, 7-6 (10-8) loss to French prodigy Moise Kouame. Facing the 17-year-old and a highly animated crowd, Vallejo boasted a 5-2 lead in the deciding set before the youngster battled back to draw level and go on to win. Kouame is the youngest man to reach the third round at Roland Garros since Michael Chang in 1988.
Speaking to CLAY after his defeat, Vallejo didn’t hold back when it came to voicing his opinion about Carvalho’s officiating after suggesting a male umpire would have been better at controlling the crowd.
‘This sort of match needs to be umpired by a man; it’s very difficult for a woman to do it,’ he told CLAY.
“It has to be refereed by a man, because it’s a very demanding crowd and you need a lot of strength to go against the crowd,” he added.
Female umpires have been officiating men’s matches for over 20 years. Sandra de Jenken was the first to umpire a Grand Slam men’s final in 2007 at both the Australian and French Opens. Other high-profile officials include Eva Asderaki-Moore and Alison Hughes, who umpired the 2025 Wimbledon final between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.
“The crowd was very out of line, but I understand they’re 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,” Vallejo continued.
“I think he (Kouame) took up a lot of time on many occasions, lying on the floor or stalling. And it’s not normal for the crowd to be shouting for a full minute without any play. 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.
“The truth is, it’s also difficult for a referee to manage this situation.”
Vallejo was making his Grand Slam main draw debut in Paris. He is currently the only player from his country to have a singles ranking inside the top 500 on the ATP Tour.
