Konta switch was not sexism

SO WHEN should they have played it? Given the scheduling issues caused by the weather at the French Open, what was so outrageous about Jo Konta’s semi-final being shifted to the lesser Court Simonne-Mathieu on Friday? Tickets had already been sold for the men’s semi-finals that day on the main Court Philippe-Chatrier and Novak Djokovic’s match with Dominic Thiem did not finish as it was. Had a women’s semi-final been slotted in prior to the meeting of Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer, who knows how much of the other semi would have been played? There are fairness issues to be considered here, as well as the responsibility to ticket holders. If the entirety of Djojkovic-Thiem had to take place 24 hours later, it could have ruined the final by leaving one competitor exhausted. This isn’t about sexism, as Konta intimated, it concerns the logistics of tournament organisation. Court Simonne has a 5,000 capacity. There could have been a wonderful atmosphere, but the French Open cannot command people to watch. It is easy to cry sexism, but not every decision is a conspiracy. This year at the Masters there were questions about a women’s professional event at Augusta National. The idea seems long overdue. Yet Augusta closes in May, soon after hosting the Masters, and does not reopen again until October. Then there is the lead time needed to put the infrastructure in place and get the course looking pristine for the television cameras each April. That does not leave much room for the members to play— far less if another high profile major was also scheduled there. Could a women’s professional tournament not simply follow on from the men, then? Well, yes and no. Yes, the course would already be set up, with stands and galleries and television access, but equally the Masters is a well protected brand with a selling point of natural beauty. Its organising committee would not want the outside world to see it looking less than perfect and that would be unavoidable with back-to-back tournaments lasting over two weeks and thousands more pairs of feet trampling the walkways. Hosting the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, as happened this year, is at least a start — but what remains is about balancing tournament organisation, the calendar and the demands of club members. It’s not as easy at it looks, just as it is not easy to organise a tennis tournament in the rain. ‘What is tiring and unfortunate is that women have to sit and justify their scheduling,’ said Konta (left). But they don’t. The organisers do and, whether it worked for Konta or not, they did. This wasn’t a slight on the women’s game. It was the best of a bad situation.