The Paraguayan tennis player, Adolfo Daniel Vallejo, sparked major controversy by passing a sexist remark following his loss to French teenager Mouse Kouame at the 2026 French Open. Vallejo openly took a controversial jab at the chair umpire.
On May 28, 2026, Vallejo and Kouame locked horns with each other in the French Open’s second round on the court Suzanne Lenglen. The Paraguayan player suffered a gruelling five-set defeat (6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 2-6, 7-6(8)) against the 17-year-old wildcard. A huge number of French crowd in the spectators’ box were intensely vocal throughout the nearly five-hour intense match, heavily cheering for their home player.
Following this loss, Vallejo spoke to the media outlet Clay Magazine, where he sparked controversy by heavily criticising the chair umpire, Ana Carvalho of Brazil. He claimed that she failed to control the hostile crowd and passed a sexist remark, stating that this type of match should be refereed by a man and it is very difficult for a woman to do it.
“This type of match has to be arbitrated by a man, it is very difficult for a woman to do it. A man has to referee him, because he is a very heavy audience and you have to have a lot of strength to go against the public,” said Adolfo Daniel Vallejo.
This controversial remark was widely called out as ‘sexist’ by the users on social media.
Adolfo Daniel Vallejo opened up about how the crowd affected his game
After passing a controversial statement on the chair umpire in the aforementioned interview, Adolfo Daniel Vallejo weighed in on how the crowd impacted the match between him and Mouse Kouame. Stating that the public were very ‘out of place,’ he said that more than affecting his game, their support strengthened his opponent’s game.
“The public was very out of place, but I understand that they are supporting their compatriot. It’s a pretty intense audience and that’s why I was already prepared, I already knew it was going to be like this and the truth is that it didn’t harm me, but more than anything it strengthened him,” said Adolfo Daniel Vallejo.
Revealing how it helped his compatriot, he said:
“I think it took a long time many times, lying on the floor or doing more time. And it is also not normal for the audience to be screaming for a minute in a row without playing. In a game where the physical part matters a lot, if you give a player a lot of time, obviously he will take advantage of it. The truth is that it is also difficult for a referee to handle this situation.”
Adolfo Daniel Vallejo had advanced to this round after prevailing over Cameron Norrie in straight sets (7-6(7), 2-0).
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