French Open Makes Historic Decision For Women’s Tennis

BusinessSportsMoneyFrench Open Makes Historic Decision For Women’s TennisByAdam Zagoria,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I'm a basketball and tennis insiderFollow AuthorJun 01, 2026, 06:30am EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.PARIS, FRANCE - MAY 26: Naomi Osaka of Japan during her first round match against Laura Siegemund of Germany on day 3 of the 2026 French Open, Roland-Garros 2026, a Grand Slam tennis tournament at Stade Roland Garros on May 26, 2026 in Paris, France. (Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)Getty ImagesThere hasn’t been a women’s night match at Roland Garros in three years, but that will change on Monday.Tournament organizers put the highly anticipated fourth-round showdown between world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and four-time major champion Naomi Osaka on the night card.The match will air at 2:15 ET on TNT."YOLO," Osaka said when asked on Saturday if her match against Sabalenka deserved a night slot, using the abbreviation for "you only live once."Since their introduction at Roland Garros, just four of the 50 night matches have featured women’s singles. There were none in 2024 or 2025, with the most recent women's night match being Sabalenka vs. Sloane Stephens in 2023.Because women play best-of-3 sets and men play best-of-5, tournament organizers have been reluctant to put a woman’s singles match on at night because if it’s a blowout it could be over in 60 or 65 minutes and fans will feel they didn’t get their money’s worth.One possible solution to this is to have a doubles match ready to go as a second match if the singles ends quickly.At the U.S. Open, both men’s and women’s singles matches are featured at night. After years of the women always going on first, that has changed in recent years with the men sometimes featured as the first match, meaning the women sometimes have to wait se...