French Open sexism row: 'We always have to justify ourselves', says Konta

The decision to put the women's French Open semifinals on outside courts speaks for itself, according to Johanna Konta.

Published : Jun 07, 2019 19:34 IST

Johanna Konta was critical of the scheduling of the women's French Open semifinals as a sexism row continued at Roland Garros.

Rain washed out play on Wednesday and meant the women's last-four matches were pushed back in line with the men's, for which separate tickets to Court Philippe-Chatrier had already been sold.

Ashleigh Barty's 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 6-3 victory over Amanda Anisimova consequently took place on Court Suzanne-Lenglen, while Konta's 7-5, 7-6 (7-2) defeat to Marketa Vondrousova was on Court Simonne-Mathieu.

READ | Unfair and inappropriate - WTA chief scathing of women's semifinal scheduling

WTA CEO and chairman Steve Simon branded it "unfair and inappropriate", while two-time major winner Amelie Mauresmo called it "a disgrace".

Asked if she agreed with Mauresmo's assessment, Konta said: "I know you guys want headlines on this and you want me to say something really juicy. I'm not oblivious to that.

"But I think more than anything, what is tiring and what is really unfortunate in this more than anything is that … female athletes have to sit in different positions and have to justify their scheduling or their involvement in an event or their salary or their opportunities.

"And I think to give time to that is even more of a sad situation than what we found ourselves in in terms of the scheduling. I don't want to sit here and justify where I'm scheduled. That's not my job.

"My job is to come here and entertain people, and I feel I did that. And I feel I gave people who paid tickets every opportunity to enjoy their French Open experience. And if the organisers do not feel that that is something that can be promoted and celebrated, then I think it's the organisers you need to have a conversation with, not me, because I did my job and I did my job well."

READ | Teenager Vondrousova beats Konta to reach French Open final

She added: "I think the way it looks probably speaks for itself more than anything.

"The court that we played on is a beautiful court, no doubt about it. I played my third round on there. So it's nice to be on a nice court. However, I think the way it looks probably speaks for itself."

On whether it felt like she was playing a grand slam semi-final, she said: "In terms of the surrounding and the occasion, probably not. But then obviously I'm aware in what match I'm playing and what round. But in terms of the match itself, probably."

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment