Madrid Open tournament director Feliciano Lopez doesn’t think that Ons Jabeur was “fair” in her criticism and claiming that men and women weren’t treated equally at Caja Magica as the former Spanish tennis star acknowledges the Madrid Open has made some mistakes in the past but adds that they have also done several things that prove that men and women receive the same treatment in the Spanish capital.
On Monday, world No. 9 Jabeur ousted Jelena Ostapenko 6-0 6-4 in the Madrid round-of-16. Before coming to Madrid, Jabeur was mightily struggling and she had been yet to clinch back-to-back wins in 2024. But in Madrid – where Jabeur won her first WTA 1000 title in 2022 – not only that the Tunisian won back-to-back matches for the first time this season but she also made it three consecutive wins to reach the quarterfinal.
Following her win over Ostapenko, Jabeur was asked what was the secret behind her Madrid success. That’s when three-time Grand Slam finalist Jabeur delivered a pretty fiery response.
“The conditions and the fact that they annoy me here by favoring men,” Jabeur said following her win over Ostapenko.
“I feel like definitely tennis is one of the sports that I’m proud to play in as a woman. I feel like we have a long way, especially here in Madrid…
