'It’s still sad': Ons Jabeur shares views about preference given to men's tennis over women's at French Open

Tunisia’s tennis star, Ons Jabeur, has become the latest high-profile player to give her views about women’s tennis not getting as much opportunity to shine as men’s tennis at the French Open. The second Grand Slam of the year began on Sunday, with players from around the world competing to showcase their talent and secure the ultimate prize.

Recently, French Tennis Federation President Gilles Moretton made some controversial remarks about the reason behind giving men’s tennis players preference to play on the main court at night. He stated that the primary reason is that the organisers are trying to do what’s best for the competition.

“The schedule is one key point on the tournament,” said Moretton. “Sometimes we have to think about what could be better for spectators. That’s why sometimes we have to make some choices. Sometimes we need to put, I mean, for the night session, we need to put the better match. Maybe we will have a few, I have no idea, a few female matches on the night sessions. We’ll see. Depends on the schedule, who is playing who, who will be the best match.”

Jabeur, who opened her French Open 2025 campaign on a losing note after suffering a defeat to Magdalena Frech in straight sets with a score of 7-6, 6-0, spoke to the media after the match and shared her view about the whole controversy. The 30-year-old stated that she continues to disagree with how women’s tennis, in particular, and women’s sports in general, have been treated by authorities.

“Same thoughts as I said last year,” she said. “It’s still sad that we are still seeing this. I keep standing by my words. In Europe, in general, it’s unfortunate for women’s sports in general. Not just for tennis, but in general. I hope whoever is making the decision. I don’t think they have daughters. I don’t think they wanna treat their daughters like this. It’s a bit ironic, you know. They don’t show women’s sport. They don’t show women’s tennis. Then they ask a question. Yeah, but mostly they watch men. Of course they watch men more, because you show men more. Everything goes together. It’s a shame from the federation. It’s a shame from prime TV that they made such a contract like this. A lot of great players deserve to be there. One of the matches was Naomi and Paula. Such an unbelievable match. They were supposed to be there. Iga and Naomi last year were supposed to be there. A lot of great matches that should’ve been there. Not sure what kind of fans he’s talking about. I know I’m a fan, I would watch that match.”