22-time Grand Slam champion calls out Roland Garros again after watching Coco Gauff beat Ajla Tomljanovic at the US Open

Coco Gauff and Ajla Tomljanovic lit up Arthur Ashe Stadium on day three of the US Open.

Gauff was left mentally exhausted after beating Tomljanovic, a match which she won in three hours.

Despite the trials and tribulations for the American, Gauff showed nerves of steel, with both players keeping fans gripped.

While the match was an incredibly entertaining experience for many to watch, it has caused another multiple-time Grand Slam champion to call out another major tournament.

Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for the International Tennis Hall of Fame

Pam Shriver calls out Roland Garros for their lack of night sessions again

Night sessions have been a big topic of conversation this year, particularly when it comes to Roland Garros.

There is only one night session match on Court Philippe-Chatrier every day of Roland Garros, and this year no women’s matches were put into this slot.

Roland Garros drew widespread criticism for this decision, including from 22-time Grand Slam doubles champion Pam Shriver.

At the time of the tournament, Shriver called the decisions made by tournament director Amelie Mauresmo ‘extremely triggering, painful and disappointing’ when speaking to The Tennis Podcast.

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The former doubles world number one was not done there, and has called out Roland Garros once again after the night session match between Gauff and Tomljanovic.

She wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter), “Hey @rolandgarros do you see how women’s tennis can be an amazing night session? Just give it a chance over time and you will be enlightened. Gauff and Tomljanovic putting on an enthralling match.”

While Roland Garros only has one match in each night session, the US Open holds two slots on both Arthur Ashe Stadium and Louis Armstrong Stadium.

How many night session matches have there been at Roland Garros since 2021?

Night session matches were introduced to Roland Garros in 2021, with 52 matches filling that slot since then.

However, only four of these have involved women, with the last coming in 2023 when Aryna Sabalenka beat Sloane Stephens.

This is in comparison to the US Open, which has one women’s match and one men’s match in every night session on both Arthur Ashe Stadium and the Louis Armstrong Stadium.

Year Women’s Night Session Match Score Time 2021 Serena Williams vs Irina-Camelia Begu Williams won, 7-6(6) 6-2 1 hour and 44 minutes 2021 Iga Swiatek vs Marta Kostyuk Swiatek won, 6-3 6-4 1 hour and 34 minutes 2022 Jelena Ostapenko vs Alize Cornet Cornet won, 6-0 1-6 6-3 1 hour and 43 minutes 2023 Aryna Sabalenka vs Stephens Sabalenka won, 7-6(5) 6-4 1 hour and 43 minutes

As a result, this means that the US Open has already held six night session matches in just three days at the 2025 tournament, which is more than Roland Garros has in the past four years.

It is therefore unsurprising that people like Shriver are left so frustrated, and it is something that Roland Garros seriously needs to look at changing.

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