Tennis player Adolfo Daniel Vallejo fined $65,000 for making sexist comment during French Open
A tennis player has been fined $65,000 (around £48,300) for making a sexist comment about a female umpire following his exit from the French Open.
Adolfo Daniel Vallejo, who hails from Paraguay, launched a scathing attack against Ana Carvalho in an interview with Clay magazine in which he claimed his match should have been officiated by a man instead of her.
"Matches like this have to be umpired by a man; it’s very difficult for a woman to do it," Vallejo said, following his defeat to France's 17-year-old Moise Kouame.
"It has to be refereed by a man, because the crowd is very hostile and you need a lot of strength to go against the crowd," the 22-year-old insisted.
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Vallejo continued: "The crowd was very out of line, but I understand they’re supporting their compatriot. It’s quite an intense crowd and that’s why I was prepared; I already knew it was going to be like that and, to be honest, it didn’t harm me, but rather strengthened him.
"I think he took up a lot of time on many occasions, lying on the ground or wasting time unnecessarily. And it’s not normal for the crowd to be shouting for a whole minute straight without any play.
"In a match where the physical aspect matters a great deal, if you give a player a lot of time, he’s obviously going to take advantage of it. The truth is, it’s also difficult for a referee to manage this situation."
French Open organisers later said Vallejo's comments were 'unacceptable' and that they 'strongly condemn all sexist remarks'.
An official statement reads: "The French Tennis Federation and the Roland-Garros tournament organisers have taken note of Adolfo Daniel Vallejo's comments about the umpire following his match on 28 May 2026, and deem these comments unacceptable.
"The competence of an umpire is not determined by their gender, but by their professionalism and ability to officiate at the highest level. The outcome of a sporting event, whether positive or negative, can never justify or excuse such remarks.
"The tournament organisers will impose a significant sanction on Adolfo Vallejo in the form of a fine.
"The Roland-Garros tournament strongly condemns all sexist remarks, regardless of who makes them, and offers its support to the match umpire and, more broadly, to all the tournament's umpiring officials."
Since then, Vallejo has been stripped of half the prize money he won for reaching the second round - one of the biggest fines in Grand Slam history.
"It has been decided to impose a fine of €65,000, approximately half of his prize money," said Amelie Mauresmo, the tournament director, on Monday (8 June).
"It is clearly unacceptable to us, to the tournament and to the Federation, even beyond the tournament. Comments of this kind have no place here," Mauresmo added.
For reference, tennis players who are eliminated in the second round of the men's singles receive €130,000 ($151,000 or £112,000) in prize money.
After his comments to Clay magazine went viral, Vallejo claimed that what he said had been 'taken out of context' on a since-deleted X post, per ESPN.
"I never spoke about women in general; I spoke about the referee specifically, who failed to manage the crowd at any point during the match. That said, I didn’t say I lost because of her either. I congratulated my opponent, and it is normal for the crowd to support the home player," he argued, per the outlet.
After it was announced that Vallejo would be fined for his comments on Friday (5 June), he issued an apology on Instagram.
"I have respect for the umpire, and for the job they do. After a 5 hrs battle, I was very heated and with a lot of emotions. I apologise. I also want to clarify that I didn’t blame the loss on her. She did a good job throughout the whole match. I will learn and get better with this. I also have great respect for Roland Garros, the French Tennis Federation, and everyone involved in tennis." he said.
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Rhiannon Ingle