French Open Fines Adolfo Daniel Vallejo for Sexist Remark About Umpire

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Adolfo Daniel Vallejo is being called out for a fault.

The tennis player from Paraguay faced criticism after his second-round loss at the French Open. He made controversial comments about the female umpire who officiated the match.

As a longtime fan, I was really surprised to hear what Vallejo said after the match. He told Clay magazine that, in his opinion, these kinds of matches really need a male umpire. He explained it’s just incredibly tough for a woman, specifically because the crowds can be so intense and the umpire needs to be strong enough to handle any pushback. It sounds like he believes a certain physical presence is necessary to control the atmosphere.

The 22-year-old player was defeated by 17-year-old Moise Kouame, a rising star in France’s tournament. The enthusiastic French crowd made for a lively atmosphere during the almost five-hour match.

Honestly, the crowd got pretty rowdy, but I get it – they were clearly there to support one of their own. It was a really intense atmosphere, which is why I was ready for it. I expected that kind of energy, and you know what? It didn’t bother me at all. If anything, all that support actually seemed to give him a real boost.

Players have 25 seconds between each serve, but the clock doesn’t start automatically. The umpire begins the timer when ready, and will stop it if there’s a lot of noise or disruption in the crowd.

Honestly, it used to drive me crazy watching him! He’d just…take forever, dramatically falling to the ground or pretending to be hurt. And the fans would be livid, yelling for ages – a full minute sometimes! – while nothing happened. It’s a really physical game, you know? So if you give someone that much leeway, of course they’re going to milk it! It just felt…unfair, and like he was wasting everyone’s time.

After Vallejo made his comments, the French Tennis Federation and the organizers of the French Open (also known as Roland-Garros) called his statements “unacceptable.”

The organizations stated on May 29th that an umpire’s skill isn’t related to their gender, but to how professionally they manage the game and their ability to officiate at a top level. They also emphasized that the result of a game – win or lose – never justifies unfair comments about an official.

Okay, so they finally said something! Apparently, because of what happened, the tournament is going to hit Adolfo Vallejo with a hefty fine. I mean, it’s something, right? It doesn’t fix things, but at least they’re acknowledging he did something wrong. I’m just hoping it’s enough, honestly. I’ve been following this tournament for years and seeing this happen to my favorite player… it’s just awful, but a fine is a start, I guess.

The Roland-Garros tournament firmly denounces all sexist comments, no matter who says them, and stands with the match official involved, as well as all of its umpires.

After being fined, Vallejo responded on social media, stating that his comments were being taken out of context.

He clarified in a now-deleted post on X (originally written in Spanish, as reported by ESPN) that his comments weren’t about women generally, but specifically about the referee’s poor handling of the crowd during the game.

However, I want to be clear that I didn’t blame her for my loss. I congratulated my opponent, and it’s natural for the home crowd to support their player.

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2026-05-30 00:17