### Women's Tennis Scheduling Sparks Controversy Amid Player Criticisms

Tournament Director Amélie Mauresmo has come under fire after her defense of scheduling women's matches during less crowded times, which many leading players argue sends a negative message. Following her statements, prominent figures in women's tennis, including Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Madison Keys, and Jessica Pegula publicly criticized the evident scheduling disparities. A striking example is that only four women's matches have been slotted in the 55 night sessions since 2021.

Former world No. 1 Lindsay Davenport also voiced her concerns on Wednesday. Covering the event for TNT Sports, Davenport expressed disbelief that Mauresmo, herself a former No. 1, would make such scheduling decisions independently. "There has to be some kind of outside influence there," Davenport suggested, pushing for more high-profile slots for women players. She was particularly disappointed with this year's tendency to schedule women's matches in the morning slots.

Yet, not everyone shares the same perspective. Patrick Mouratoglou, an ex-coach of Serena Williams now working with Naomi Osaka, defended the disparity on Instagram. He argued that day matches offer broader national television exposure than night matches.

Television networks with broadcast rights to the tournament, such as TNT Sports, can request specific match times. On Wednesday, they requested Coco Gauff and Madison Keys not be the first match of the day. Despite this, the tournament scheduled their quarterfinal at 11 a.m. CEST, favoring Mirra Andreeva and Diane Boisson in the second slot. Men's quarterfinals took the later slots because the women's semifinals are set for Thursday, while the men's follow on Friday.

Remarkably, Boisson defeated Andreeva to reach the semifinals, achieving a milestone as the first Frenchwoman in the last four at the French Open since Marion Bartoli in 2011, and one of the few to do so in their Grand Slam debut since 1980. Boisson, ranked No. 361, will face the American No. 2 seed, Gauff, on Thursday. It remains to be seen when this highly anticipated match will be scheduled.