Tunisian tennis player Ons Jabeur criticized European tournaments for not treating women players equally and giving preferential treatment to men in combined events. She made the statement after advancing to the quarter-finals of the Madrid Open.
Jabeur, the 2022 Madrid champion, made it to the quarter-finals after defeating ninth-seeded Jelena Ostapenko 6-0, 6-4. Top seed Iga Swiatek also secured a spot in the last eight by winning against home favourite Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-1, 6-0.
However, Jabeur expressed her disappointment with tournament organisers and their lack of respect for women in tennis. Despite being a leader in women’s sport, Jabeur believes that tennis still has a long way to go in achieving gender equality, especially in Madrid and Rome.
Jabeur shared her personal experiences at events, stating that women players were not given the same access to practice courts as the men. She also noted how WTA matches were not shown on TV as frequently as ATP matches. Jabeur believes that this treatment is unfair and that it is time to speak up.
Meanwhile, Swiatek dropped her opening game before winning the next 12 against her Spanish opponent. She will play against Brazilian left-hander Beatriz Haddad Maia in the quarter-finals.
In the men’s competition, American Ben Shelton’s unbeaten 5-0 start to the clay season came to an end at the hands of Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik, who won 3-6, 7-6 (7/2), 6-4 to reach the fourth round. Bublik will face either Daniil Medvedev or Sebastian Korda in the next round.
