'Swiatek? a great player, but not a star': Mouratoglou defends Roland Garros’ decision to exclude women from night sessions

Patrick Mouratoglou agreed with the Roland Garros organisers on not scheduling women’s matches during the night sessions. Naomi Osaka’s coach argued that women’s tennis “doesn’t have big stars,” using 5-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek as an example: “a great player, but not a star.”

Mouratoglou – former coach of Serena Williams – said he loves women’s tennis but believes there’s a lack of truly captivating stars for the audience. The Frenchman pointed to the era of Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova as the benchmark for global tennis icons.

“Are there stars among the women players? Sorry, but no.”

One of the hot-button issues during this French Open has been the absence of WTA matches in the night session. Ons Jabeur was the first to speak out, saying this lack of visibility hurts the women’s tour — both in press conferences and on social media. Other players, including Aryna Sabalenka, Jessica Pegula, and former top-10 Alizé Cornet, echoed the criticism.

However, tournament director Amélie Mauresmo defended the decision, explaining that television contracts require a guaranteed amount of screen time — something easier to achieve with men’s best-of-five matches.

“I can’t say I disagree. I love women’s tennis and I support promoting it,” Mouratoglou said in an interview with France Télévisions. “But tournament directors have constraints. They have stadiums to fill, they need to satisfy people who aren’t necessarily die-hard tennis fans.”

“Most people coming aren’t that knowledgeable about tennis. They want to see stars. And you also have to guarantee a minimum amount of playtime. Are there stars among the women? No, sorry, I don’t agree. I think we’re in a period of women’s tennis where there are no big stars.”

Mouratoglou went on to say that the popularity of players 10 or 15 years ago was significantly higher than that of the current WTA leaders. “In the era of Sharapova, Serena (Williams), and others, there were massive stars — hugely popular and globally known. That’s not the case with Swiatek.”

“She’s a truly great player, she’s won here four times — no doubt about that. But being a star isn’t just about being a great player. And no one’s saying men’s tennis is better than women’s. I love both equally," the former Simona Halep coach concluded.