Television networks get a say in the French Open schedule?

Apparently, French Open media partners have a say in when certain matches are scheduled to be played. But as it turns out, their requests are not always granted.

According to a report by Charlie Eccleshare in The Athletic, the French Tennis Federation (FFT) allegedly denied a request by Amazon, the exclusive broadcaster of the French Open’s night sessions in France, for a fourth-round match between Loïs Boisson and Jessica Pegula to be moved to the night session. With a win, Boisson became the first French woman to advance to the quarterfinals in her home tournament in eight years.

However, the FFT has made clear that the night session, which is only one match, is reserved for men’s competition, given the matches are a best-of-five rather than a best-of-three, thus creating better value for ticket buyers. “It has never been that the girls are not worthy to play at night,” Roland Garros tournament director Amélie Mauresmo said.

Perhaps most interesting about this story, however, is that television networks can influence when certain matches are played during the French Open.

Eccleshare reports:

“All television networks with rights to the event can make requests for the next day’s schedule. They are taken into account by the tournament, but with no guarantee that they will be granted. TNT Sports which holds the U.S. rights, requested that Wednesday’s match between Coco Gauff and Madison Keys not be scheduled in the first slot of the day, which is at 11 a.m. CEST French time (5 a.m. ET / 2 a.m. PT).”

Horse trading for preferred games or, in this case, matches isn’t abnormal for television networks. The NFL’s broadcast partners regularly lobby the league for specific teams or matchups. The Big Ten’s partners have a literal draft to pick the best games.

But this is a new revelation for tennis. Presumably, U.S. network partners would have the most influence over a match schedule, given the amount they pay for media rights. But how much influence is that exactly? And how much consideration is given to the players themselves and their schedules? There are certainly some questions about competitive balance in play.

Clearly, even a giant like Amazon doesn’t have that much pull over the schedule. But the mere fact that the FFT is open to suggestions is notable. It seems that they’re at least willing to give TNT Sports, the U.S. broadcaster, favorable windows for American players.