French Open Fines Adolfo Daniel Vallejo for Sexist Remarks

French Open organizers have fined Adolfo Daniel Vallejo following sexist comments made after his second-round, five-set loss to Moise Kouame last week. Vallejo said the tournament is "very difficult for a woman to" umpire and said the match should've been officiated by a man after his defeat (6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 2-6, 6-7).

Vallejo was fined $65,000 -- half of the Paraguayan's prize money after advancing to the second round -- after Roland Garros director Amelie Mauresmo reprimanded him for critical comments. Vallejo complained that umpire Ana Carvalho failed to control spectators, who were pulling for Kouame, a Frenchman.

"This is clearly unacceptable," Mauresmo said. "Once again, such remarks have no place here."

Vallejo cited Kouame "stalling" during the match.

"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," Vallejo said, according to ESPN . "The crowd was very out of line, but I understand they're supporting their compatriot. It's quite an intense crowd and that's why I was prepared; I already knew it would be like that and, to be honest, it didn't harm me, but rather strengthened him."

Kouame often held his hand to his ear during the match, generating excitement and energy from the home fans.

"And it's not normal for the crowd to be shouting for a full minute without any play," Vallejo said. "In a match where the physical aspect matters so much, if you give a player a lot of time he's obviously going to take advantage of it. The truth is it's also difficult for a referee to manage this situation."

Vallejo erased a two-set deficit, survived the deafening atmosphere and nearly spoiled one of the tournament's feel-good stories. What followed overshadowed the tennis, however.

Instead of being remembered for his resilience and competitive fire, Vallejo became the center of controversy after his comments toward the chair umpire drew widespread criticism. His remarks shifted the conversation away from an otherwise impressive performance on one of tennis' biggest stages.

That's the unfortunate reality for Vallejo. At 21, he's shown enough shot-making ability and toughness to suggest bigger opportunities are ahead. But Paris became a lesson in how quickly momentum can disappear, especially when a marathon battle becomes overshadowed by complaints in the aftermath.

In the previous round, Vallejo rarely looked rattled during extended rallies and showed ability to stay mentally engaged. That resilience was on full display throughout the first three sets of his second-round bout at Roland-Garros before Kouame ended the journey.

From a technical standpoint, Vallejo thrived from the baseline and generated heavy topspin off both wings. He moved exceptionally well laterally and looked comfortable constructing points rather than relying on first-strike tennis -- valuable attributes on clay.

His endurance and patience force Kouame to earn points repeatedly, often leading to mistakes during long exchanges. However, Kouame had the upperhand late in the match and took the thriller in a tiebreak, leading to Vallejo's remarks.

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_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/tennis/news/french-open-2026-adolfo-daniel-vallejo-fine-unacceptable-sexist-remarks/)._