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‘Happy for men to take French Open night sessions,’ says Gauff

Coco Gauff shrugged off French Open night sessions being monopolised by men, claiming it's a not a "hotspot" for women players.

'Happy for men to take French Open night sessions,' says Gauff
US Coco Gauff reacts during her match against Russia's Mirra Andreeva. Photo: Emmanuel DUNAND/AFP.

In 2022, only one of 10 night sessions at Roland Garros featured a women’s singles match.

This year saw the first six nights also feature only men’s singles with Sunday’s last-16 clash between Aryna Sabalenka and Sloane Stephens set to be the first women’s match at the seventh time of asking.

“I don’t know if the night session amongst the players is a popular hotspot, to be honest,” said American world number six Gauff.

“I guess for the TV and that’s the prime spot, maybe yes, it does suck in that sense. But amongst the players and from my conversations, I don’t think a lot of people want that spot just because it is a late night.”

The 19-year-old added: “I don’t know if Sloane or Aryna wanted to play at that time, but I know the ones I spoke to, no one really wants the night session.

“We we were happy with the men taking it.”

Last year, tournament director Amelie Mauresmo, a former world number one and two-time Grand Slam title winner, caused a stir by saying men’s matches were more attractive. However, she insisted her remarks were taken out of context.

On Saturday, there were reports that fans were offering their Sunday night session tickets back for resale.

Men’s world number one Carlos Alcaraz and 22-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic are both playing in the day time on Sunday.

They form part of a three-match daytime session on Court Philippe Chatrier with the most expensive ticket, according to the tournament’s own website, priced at €245 — an average of just over €80 per match.

The one match on Sunday evening, however, comes with a top price of €180.

World number seven Ons Jabeur believes the best way forward is to follow the lead of the Australian and US Opens and schedule a men’s and a women’s match side-by-side in the night sessions.

That would mean an earlier start than the current 2030 (1830GMT) slot or run the risk of ending deep in the early hours of the following morning.

Saturday night’s match, which saw Alexander Zverev defeat Frances Tiafoe in four sets, finished at 0015 local time on Sunday (2215GMT).

“It was high time to put a night session with a female match. It’s a bit strange that we didn’t have the two matches, man and woman,” said Tunisian player Jabeur.

The Wimbledon and US Open runner-up in 2022 believes public perceptions of women’s tennis need to drastically change.

“People just judge that it’s gonna be a crappy match. But it’s not the case. There are a lot of extraordinary matches,” she said.

“I met many people who say, Well, the female matches, blah, blah, blah, and I ask them, Did you watch a female match? They said no. How can you judge a female match without watching it?”

“I hope that the stadium will be full tomorrow.”

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France football star Thuram takes stand against far right ahead of elections

France forward Marcus Thuram on Saturday called on voters in the country to "fight" to stop the far right coming to power in upcoming snap elections.

France football star Thuram takes stand against far right ahead of elections

Thuram is the first member of the France squad at Euro 2024 to take a clear position against the far-right National Rally (RN) ahead of legislative elections for the French National Assembly.

“I think the situation is sad and very serious,” the 26-year-old forward with Italian champions Inter Milan told reporters in Paderborn, where the 2022 World Cup runners-up are based during the Euros in Germany.

President Emmanuel Macron has called elections with the first round set for June 30 and the second round on July 7.

He announced the snap poll last Sunday in response to the results of the EU elections, in which far-right parties — including the top-scoring RN — managed to take almost 40 percent of the vote in France.

The French squad, the majority of whom come from an immigrant background, had been playing a friendly match against Canada at the same time as Macron made his announcement.

“I heard about it after the match against Canada. We were all a bit shocked in the dressing room.

“We need to tell everyone to get out and vote, to fight every day to stop the RN winning,” added Thuram, who is preparing with his teammates for their first European Championship game against Austria on Monday.

Other France players, notably Ousmane Dembele and Olivier Giroud, had already publicly called on their compatriots to go out and vote in the elections, but had not taken as clear a stand as Thuram.

“I hope that everyone shares my opinion. It is not enough to say that you need to go out and vote. We need to explain how we have got to where we are,” he said.

“I don’t think it should be very difficult to talk about. It is the way I have been educated.

“I know a lot of people follow me on social media and I have an obligation to get certain messages across,” added Thuram, whose father Lilian won the World Cup with France in 1998 and is well-known for his campaigning against racism.

“Having grown up with my father I feel a responsibility to get this message across.”

Of his teammates in the France squad, Thuram added: “I have no doubt at all that everyone in the France squad thinks the same way as me.

“I am not here to force anyone to say anything even if it is what they think.

“Thanks to my father I have enough of an understanding of this situation to be able to talk about it.”

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