The WTA has called for a balanced match schedule at the French Open that gives women's players their fair share of prime-time billing after the Grand Slam featured men's matches in all 11 evening session slots this year.
In France, Amazon's Prime Video has exclusive broadcasting rights for the major's evening sessions, which run from the first round to the quarterfinals, and only one women's match was chosen to be the evening showpiece in 2022 and in 2023.
"The generation and depth of talent we are currently witnessing in the sport is incredible," the governing body of women's tennis said in a statement. "Fans want to see the excitement and thrill of women's tennis on the biggest stages and in the premium time slots. To continue building the value of our combined product, a balanced match schedule that features both the best in men's and women's tennis is critical."
French Open organizers did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Tournament director and two-time Grand Slam champion Amelie Mauresmo said last year that they could "do better" on evening scheduling, and Tunisian Ons Jabeur, the No. 8 seed this year, was less than happy to play her quarterfinal in the morning.
"I would have loved a quarterfinal at night, not at 11 a.m. For me, it doesn't make sense. ... I don't know the broadcasts, I don't know the TV, but yeah, you achieve a quarterfinal, it's like, 'No, you play at 11,'" Jabeur said. "I would suggest to start earlier and then put nice matches on both sides. It's not healthy also for players to play past, I don't know, midnight."
Not all women's players prefer evening matches, however, as defending champion Iga Swiatek said she was much more comfortable playing in the daytime.
"I like playing during the day, so it's comfortable for me that I can be scheduled that way," Swiatek said. "Probably there are many factors, a lot of requests. ... I understand some decisions, like me and Naomi [Osaka] being in the day when Richard Gasquet played during the night. It's obvious that a French player might have priority in terms of night sessions."
Information from Reuters was used in this report.