“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,” Vallejo had said after his second-round defeat. | Photo Credit: AFP

Paraguayan tennis player Adolfo Daniel Vallejo apologised for the remarks he made about the woman umpire who officiated his second-round defeat at the French Open.

After he lost to French 17-year-old Moise Kouame in a fifth-set tiebreak on Thursday, Vallejo told tennis website Clay that Brazilian umpire Ana Carvalho had not been strong enough in the face of fan support for the local player.

“This sort of match needs to be umpired by a man. It’s very difficult for a woman to do it,” the 22-year-old said.

“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.”

Vallejo took to social media to apologise.

“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 apologize,” Vallejo wrote on Instagram late on Friday.

In his post, Vallejo also said that his comments had been misinterpreted.

“I also want to clarify that I didn’t blame the lost on her, she did a good job throughout the whole match”, which he lost in a super tie-break after 4 hours and 56 minutes of play.

“I will learn and get better with this,” Vallejo added.

Earlier on Friday, Roland Garros organisers had announced that the Paraguayan would be fined for his comments, adding the 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”.

Published on May 30, 2026