Shock announcement? Mauresmo hints Roland Garros night sessions will head to Suzanne Lenglen next year

Amelie Mauresmo faces familiar questions over scheduling at Roland Garros

Amelie Mauresmo’s role in tennis has often divided opinion, and her position as tournament director of Roland Garros continues to put her under the microscope.

The French Open draws global attention each year for two weeks, with fans watching closely as the game’s top players try to make their mark on one of tennis’ most storied events.

This year saw Mirra Andreeva and Alexander Zverev emerge as champions, capping off a tournament filled with upsets and unexpected storylines.

But despite the unique atmosphere of Roland Garros, Mauresmo once again found herself defending a familiar issue – the decision to rarely feature women’s matches in the night session on Philippe Chatrier.

Amelie Mauresmo faces more backlash over Roland Garros night sessions

This isn’t a new issue. The criticism around the scheduling of women’s matches in prime time at Roland Garros has been building for years, and there’s no sign of it slowing down. As the pattern continues, so do the questions about why it hasn’t changed.

This year did see one notable shift, with Naomi Osaka and Aryna Sabalenka playing a night session match—the first women’s fixture in that slot in three years. But again, that was the only WTA match given that stage throughout the tournament.

Asked if her approach is harmful to the women’s game, Mauresmo responded: “I would like to remind you also, and I’m doing this probably every year, that two women’s matches and two men’s matches are happening on Centre Court, on Philippe Chatrier and on Suzanne Lenglen, and all of the other courts that we have, including our big courts every day.

“So I mean, we’re going to continue to try to satisfy as many people as possible, with many factors that we have to put together before making the scheduling decision every day, day or night. And as I said, the length or potential length of match is one of the factors that we have to acknowledge also.”

Roland Garros is considering night session matches on Court Suzanne Lenglen

The topic then shifted to the potential of holding night sessions outside of Philippe Chatrier, the main court at Roland Garros.

Court Suzanne Lenglen is another top venue within the grounds, fully equipped to host matches under the lights and create a similar atmosphere to Chatrier.

When asked if this expansion was being seriously considered, Mauresmo replied: “We also are having these possibilities.

“When we talk about this internally, we face a little bit of an issue, given the size of the overall stadium and the capacity to get more people in, because it would mean another 5,000, 8,000, 10,000 people and all the facilities.

“As of today, it’s not expandable for now. So yeah, every year we challenge these issues.”

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