‘Matches Should Be Umpired By Man’: Adolfo Vallejo Slammed, Fined After Sexist Comments on French Open Umpire

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Paraguayan tennis player Adolfo Daniel Vallejo is facing a substantial financial penalty from the French Tennis Federation (FFT) following controversial remarks regarding female officials. After a five-set defeat against a local teenager Moise Kouame at Roland Garros, Vallejo drew sharp criticism for publicly claiming that female umpires lack the fortitude required to handle intensely hostile tournament crowds.

The friction stemmed from his second-round match on a boisterous Court Suzanne Lenglen, where Vallejo fell 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 2-6, 7-6 (10-8) to France’s Moise Kouame. Following the battle, the Paraguayan directly targeted Brazilian chair umpire Ana Carvalho, accusing her of completely losing control over the highly partisan French spectators.

What did Adolfo Vallejo say after his French Open defeat?

“I think this sort of matches should be umpired by a man,” Vallejo told Clay magazine.

“It’s very difficult for a woman to do it because the crowd is very annoying. You need to have a lot of courage to go against the crowd.”

The 17-year-old Kouame was roared on by passionate home supporters during the thriller that lasted four hours and 56 minutes, but Vallejo insisted the atmosphere only helped his opponent.

“I knew it was going to be like that. It didn’t harm me, it only strengthened him,” he said, adding that a male umpire would have “absolutely” made a difference against the “disrespectful” crowd.

Dani Vallejo after losing to 17-year-old Frenchman Moise Kouame at Roland-Garros:

‘These types of matches should have male umpires, it’s very difficult for women to handle rowdy crowds’

Enjoy your flight back home, @danivallejo17 – while Ana Carvalho will continue to do her job pic.twitter.com/b9sgjBkxm8

— Bastien Fachan (@BastienFachan) May 29, 2026

FFT Condemns ‘Unacceptable’ Remarks

The FFT swiftly condemned the comments as “unacceptable” and announced the fine.

“The competence of an umpire is not determined by their gender, but by their professionalism and ability to officiate at the highest level,” the FFT said in a statement.

“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.”

Vallejo Attempts Damage Control on Social Media

Vallejo attempted damage control on social media, claiming his comments were taken out of context.

“I never spoke about women in general, I was referring specifically to the referee, who failed to manage the crowd at any point during the match,” he posted on X.

“That said, I didn’t say I lost because of her either. I congratulated the opponent and it’s only natural for the crowd to support the home player.”