Ashleigh Barty has played down the controversial decision by French Open tournament organisers to host the women’s semi-finals on outside courts.
The Australian defeated 14th seed Madison Keys 6-3 7-5 to book her first appearance in a grand slam semi where she will face American Amanda Anisimova after the teenager stunned world No.1 Simona Halep 6-2 6-4.
Both quarter-finals had been scheduled for Wednesday but were washed out, meaning the semi-finals were also delayed and now must be played on the same day as the men’s contests.
Ticketing constraints and another poor forecast for Friday has resulted in organisers putting both men’s matches on Court Philippe Chatrier while one women’s match will be played on Suzanne Lenglen and one on Simonne Mathieu.
“Obviously we would love to play on Chatrier. For me, personally, I’m excited to be in a semi-final. It doesn’t really matter which court I play on,” said Barty, the world No.8.
Starting next year, Roland Garros will have a retractable roof over the main court to make it the last of the four Grand Slam events to have at least one stadium in which matches can be played in any weather.
The WTA said they were “extremely disappointed” by the scheduling, which CEO and chairman Steve Simon called “unfair and inappropriate” in a statement.
“There’s no doubt that scheduling has been challenged by weather conditions and the WTA understands the scheduling issues presented at Roland Garros, ” said Simon.
“We are, however, extremely disappointed by the scheduling of both women’s semi-finals on outside courts. This decision is unfair and inappropriate.
“The four women who have played so well and made it this far have earned their right to play on the biggest stage. We believe other solutions were possible which would have been to the benefit of fans as well as all players.”
Anisimova is the first player born in the 2000s to reach the last eight at a slam and she overcame her nerves to hit the defending champion off the court.
Halep’s defeat means there is guaranteed to be a first-time slam champion come Saturday, with Britain’s Johanna Konta the only one of the remaining quartet who had ever reached a singles semi-final before, while world No.38 Marketa Vondrousova had never gone past the round of 16 at a slam prior to her run in Paris.