Paraguayan player Adolfo Daniel Vallejo was hit with a US$65,000 (HK$507,000) fine for his remarks about the woman who umpired 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.
“A fine of US$65,000 has been imposed, roughly half of his prize money,” tournament director Amelie Mauresmo said.
Players eliminated in the second round of the men’s singles receive 130,000 euros (HK$1.18 million).
“This is clearly something that is unacceptable to us ... This kind of language has no place here,” Mauresmo said.
After losing in a super tie-break after four hours and 56 minutes of play, Vallejo complained to Clay.
“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.”
After organizers said on Friday they would fine Vallejo, the world number 71 apologized on social media.
“I have respect for the umpires and for the job they do, after a five-hour battle I was very heated and felt a lot of emotions, I apologize,” Vallejo wrote on Instagram.
Vallejo said his comments had been misinterpreted.
“I also want to clarify that I didn’t blame the loss on her, she did a good job throughout the whole match,” he said. “I will learn and get better with this.”
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
