Amelie Mauresmo apologises after scheduling row and says comments were taken ‘out of context’

Mauresmo is overseeing her first French Open following her appointment last year, but her comments have sparked plenty of reaction.

She said: “In this era that we are in, I don’t feel bad or unfair – as a woman and former women’s player – saying that right now you have more appeal [in] general, for the men’s matches.

“My goal when I was doing the schedule every day was to try and see, from the first round when the draw came out, which women’s match I could put there, honestly.

“The confrontation or the star that I could put there. You have all those parameters.”

She added: “It is a little bit disappointing and surprising because she was also in the WTA.”

“From my point of view, for every player it’s more convenient to play at a normal hour, but for sure I want to entertain and I also want to show my best tennis in every match.

“So, I think it’s kind of the personal opinion of every person if they like men’s tennis or women’s tennis more, or if they like them equally.

“And some may say that it’s unpredictable and girls are not consistent.

“But on the other hand, it may also be something that is really appealing and it may really attract more people. So, it depends on the personal views of some people.”

But Mauresmo has now further clarified her comments and reiterated her commitment to promoting women’s tennis.

“First of all, the comments that I made were taken out of the wider picture, out of the context. And I want to say sorry to the players that really felt bad about what I said.

“Again, I think the people who know me, who’ve known me on and off the court, throughout my career, throughout everything that I’ve done, know that I’m a big fighter for equal rights and women’s tennis, women in general.

“Concerning the scheduling, specifically for the night matches, my say was that because we have one match only, the ticket holders, I feel that it’s really tougher to schedule a woman’s match because we have to take into consideration the length, I feel.

“Next year in order to be able to be more fair to the women’s players, as well as to both categories actually, it would be good to maybe have the possibility to put two matches or maybe a women’s match plus a doubles match.”

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