French Open: Aryna Sabalenka and Naomi Osaka to meet in first women’s night-time slot at Roland-Garros since 2023 | tennis news

The French Open will stage a women’s match in a night session for the first time in three years when a pair of four-time Grand Slam champions, Aryna Sabalenka and Naomi Osaka, meet on Monday.

Tournament director Amelie Mauresmo has been widely criticized for reserving prime-time one-match slots almost exclusively for men’s singles competition.

Since the session opened in 2021, only four of the first 60 matches have been women’s singles, and none since 2023.

But, with few household names in the top half of the men’s draw, following the second-round exits of world No. 1 Janic Ciner and record 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic – as well as the early withdrawal of defending champion Carlos Alcaraz – the blockbuster clash between Sabalenka and Osa’s women will end.

A fourth-round meeting between current world No. Sabalenka and former No. 1 Osaka will end a 33-straight men’s match streak in the evening session at Roland-Garros.

Mauresmo has previously defended the reliance on men’s matches, which are played in best-of-three sets rather than best-of-five, citing value for money for ticket-holders and the potential for the women’s competition to be too fast.

Jessica Pegula and Once Jabeur criticized the French Open schedule last year when they again failed to feature women’s tennis in a night session.

“We’re an event that’s supposed to be equal. Slams, it’s supposed to be equal. Why not give us a chance to be something more?” Pegula said at this time.

Jabeur added: “It’s unfortunate for women’s sport in general. Not for tennis, but in general.

“It’s a bit ironic. They don’t show women’s sports, they don’t show women’s tennis, and then they question, ‘Yeah, but mostly they (spectators) watch men’. Of course they watch more men because you show more men. It all goes together.”

New WTA chief executive Valerie Camillo met with Mauresmo at Roland-Garros this week, where she called for greater representation in the women’s match.

Speaking about the possibility of playing in the night session after his third-round victory, Osaka said: “I don’t even associate this tournament with night matches here and night matches at the US Open or anything like that.”

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