French Open to fine Vallejo for criticizing female umpire

'The competence of an umpire is not determined by their gender, but by their professionalism and ability to officiate at the highest level'

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Published May 29, 2026  •  1 minute read

Brazilian chair umpire Ana Carvalho helps France's Moise Kouame to stand up. Photo by Dimitar DILKOFF /AFP

Paris — An attack by Paraguay’s Adolfo Daniel Vallejo on a woman umpire was “unacceptable” and will result in a “significant sanction”, French Open organisers said Friday.

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After he lost to French 17-year-old Moise Kouame in a fifth-set tiebreak on Thursday, Vallejo told tennis website Clay that Brazilian umpire Ana Carvalho had not been strong enough in the face of fan support for the local player.

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“This sort of match needs to be umpired by a man. It’s very difficult for a woman to do it,” the 22-year-old said.

“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.”

The French Tennis Federation said in a statement that they and the Roland Garros tournament organizers “have taken note of Adolfo Daniel Vallejo’s comments”.

“The competence of an umpire is not determined by their gender, but by their professionalism and ability to officiate at the highest level,” the statement continued.

“The outcome of a sporting event, whether positive or negative, can never justify or excuse such remarks.”

They said they “will impose a significant sanction… in the form of a fine.”

“The Roland Garros tournament strongly condemns all sexist remarks, regardless of who makes them, and offers its support to the match umpire and, more broadly, to all the tournament’s umpiring officials.”

Vallejo said Carvalho had allowed Kouame too much recovery time.

“I think he took up a lot of time on many occasions, lying on the floor or stalling,” said Vallejo.

“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.”

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