Daniel Vallejo has lost around half of his prize money earned at the French Open after being fined for implying it was unsuitable for a female umpire to be officiating his match.
During an interview with Clay following his second round loss to Moise Kouame, Vallejo suggested that umpire Ana Carvalho was unable to control the crowd because she is a woman. Adding that a man would have been better at dealing with the crowd. Female umpires have been officiating men’s matches for decades, and the first time a woman umpired a men’s Grand Slam final was in 2007.
‘This sort of match needs to be umpired by a man; it’s very difficult for a woman to do it,’ Vallejo 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.
Following the backlash, Vallejo contacted CLAY, explaining that his comments had been taken out of context. The publication responded by publishing the full audio of their conversation (in Spanish) on social media. He has also issued a statement on Instagram.
“I want to clarify that my comments were not meant in the way they have been understood. I have respect for the umpire and for the job they do, after a 5 hours battle I was very heated and with a lot of emotions, I apologize,” Vallejo wrote in an Instagram story.
“I also want to clarify that I didn’t blame the loss on her; she did a good job throughout the whole match. I will learn and get better with this.
“I also have great respect for Roland-Garros, the French Tennis Federation, and everyone involved in tennis.”
Roland Garros’ tournament director, Amélie Mauresmo, confirmed on Monday during a media briefing that the French Tennis Federation has fined Vallejo around 65,000 euros (£56,250). The Paraguayan earned 130,000 euros for reaching the second round of this year’s tournament.
“A financial penalty was imposed, amounting to approximately 65,000 euros—roughly half of his prize money,” said Maureasmo.
“As far as we’re concerned, the situation is very clear: this kind of remark is unacceptable. Neither for the tournament nor for the Federation.”
Vallejo, who was making his Grand Slam main-draw debut in Paris, is currently the only player from his country with a singles ranking inside the top 500 on the ATP Tour. Currently ranked 71st in the world, he has won five titles on the Challenger Tour, with two of those being this year.
