Paraguayan tennis player Adolfo Daniel Vallejo, ranked 71st in the world, received a fine of 65,000 euros after allegedly sexist comments made to the chair umpire, Ana Carvalho, at the end of the match lost in the second round at Roland Garros.
Drastic fine of 65,000 euros
The tournament organizers decided to severely sanction the 22-year-old athlete, who was eliminated by the 17-year-old Frenchman Moise Kouame after a five-set match. The fine represents about half of the amount earned by Vallejo for his trip to Roland Garros, the prize for reaching the second round being 130,000 euros.
At the end of the match, the Paraguayan tennis player criticized Ana Carvalho, the chair umpire from Brazil, claiming that “such matches should be led by a man, it is very difficult for a woman. A male referee is absolutely necessary because the crowd is very difficult to control and it takes a lot of strength to be firm against the supporters”.
The Paraguayan tried to rectify the situation
“The crowd went way beyond the limits, but I understand that they support their compatriot. It’s a pretty passionate crowd and that’s why I was prepared, I already knew it would be like this, and to be honest, it didn’t affect me, on the contrary, it made me stronger. Kouame wasted a lot of time on many occasions, lying on the clay or pulling for time.
And it’s not normal for the crowd to chant for a whole minute without the match going on. In a game where physicality matters so much, if you give a player a lot of time, it’s obvious they’ll take advantage of it. The truth is that it is difficult even for a referee to handle this situation!“said the Paraguayan.
He later apologized
In a post on social networks, the sportsman stated that his statements were misinterpreted and wanted to highlight the good performance of the chair umpire throughout the game. At the same time, he emphasized that he does not consider arbitration as the reason for his defeat.
