Paraguayan Vallejo Slams Female Umpire After French Open

A professional tennis player has sparked controversy at the French Open by stating his marathon second-round match should not have been officiated by a woman. Paraguayan Adolfo Daniel Vallejo made the remarks following his nearly five-hour defeat to 17-year-old Frenchman Moise Kouame on Thursday.

The match, played on Court Suzanne Lenglen, saw Kouame win a dramatic five-set contest by a score of 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 2-6, 7-6 (10-8) after four hours and 56 minutes. Vallejo, who was making his Grand Slam main draw debut, expressed frustration with the officiating and the atmosphere, which featured a highly vocal crowd supporting the home favorite.

In an interview with Clay magazine, Vallejo directly criticized the choice of umpire, Brazilian official Ana Carvalho. "This sort of match needs to be umpired by a man, it's very difficult for a woman to do it," Vallejo 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."

Much of Vallejo's complaint centered on the time allowed between points. While players are generally permitted 25 seconds, umpires have discretion to delay the start of the countdown clock during...