Adolfo Daniel Vallejo has been slapped with a huge $65,000 (£48,250) fine – almost half his prize money – after saying his French Open match should not have been umpired by a woman.
The Paraguayan sparked a sexism storm after his second-round defeat to French teenager Moise Kouame when he argued that Brazilian Ana Carvalho, an experienced official, was not strong enough to control the crowd.
‘This sort of match needs to be umpired by a man, it’s very difficult for a woman to do it,’ Vallejo told Clay magazine. ‘It has to be refereed by a man, because it’s a very demanding crowd and you need a lot of strength to go against the crowd.’
Roland Garros tournament director Amelie Mauresmo confirmed that Vallejo had been fined almost half of his $151,400 (£112,500) prize money.
‘This is clearly unacceptable,’ said Mauresmo. ‘Once again, such remarks have no place here.’
The world number 71 claimed his comments were taken out of context only for Clay magazine to release the damning audio from their interview.
Adolfo Daniel Vallejo has been fined almost £50,000 for saying his French open second-round defeat should not have been umpired by a woman
He claimed that experienced umpire Ana Carvalho was not strong enough to control the crowd
Vallejo was fined under Article III Section R of the Grand Slam rule book for Unsportsmanlike Conduct, which ‘is defined as any misconduct by a player that is clearly abusive or detrimental to the Sport. In addition, unsportsmanlike conduct shall include, but not be limited to, the giving, making, issuing, authorising or endorsing any public statement having, or designed to have, an effect prejudicial or detrimental to the best interests of the tournament and/or the officiating thereof.’
Vallejo’s fine is believed to be one of the biggest in Grand Slam history.
