MADRID – Tunisian tennis star Ons Jabeur called out organisers of European tournaments for failing to “respect” women players by giving preferential treatment to men at combined events, after she swept into the quarter-finals of the Madrid Open on April 29.

Jabeur dismissed ninth-seeded Jelena Ostapenko 6-0, 6-4 to reach the last eight along with top seed Iga Swiatek, who eased past home favourite Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-1, 6-0.

But Jabeur, the 2022 Madrid champion, later took a swipe at the organisers, saying she believes tennis still has some way to go to achieve gender equality, despite it being the leader in women’s sport.

“Definitely tennis is a sport that I’m proud to play in as a woman,” said the world No. 9, who next plays Madison Keys for a place in the semi-finals after Keys beat Coco Gauff 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 6-4.

“But I feel like we have a long way, especially here in Madrid and in Rome, in Europe in general.

“I feel like they need to respect women more and they need to respect how we are playing.”

Sharing examples from her personal experiences at events, Jabeur said women players were not given the same access to practice courts as the men, and noted how WTA matches were not shown on TV as frequently as ATP matches.

“The way they treat women here and men, they’re completely different. Maybe people from outside, they don’t see it. I’m definitely one of the people that I want to speak up,” she added.

“Here in Spain, I would love to go to the hotel and (switch on) the TV and see a woman’s tennis match. I haven’t seen once one tennis match of a woman.

“Obviously, I understand there are a lot of Spanish (male players) playing, but asking for one match? Even the female Spanish (players) they are not even showing. It’s really frustrating to see that. How can you inspire young girls without showing any match in that?”

Meanwhile, Swiatek dropped her opening game before sweeping the next 12 against her Spanish opponent to book a quarter-final meeting with Brazilian left-hander Beatriz Haddad Maia.

“She’s always a very intense player and knows how to play on clay,” said the Polish world No. 1 of her upcoming opponent.

In the men’s competition, American Ben Shelton saw his unbeaten 5-0 start to the clay season ended by Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik, who won 3-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 to reach the fourth round, where Daniil Medvedev awaits.

Meanwhile, on April 28, Carlos Alcaraz said he is playing pain-free at the Madrid Open following an arm injury that derailed the start of his clay-court season but the defending champion still has some lingering doubts about his forehand.

The 20-year-old retained his Indian Wells title in March and then reached the Miami Open quarter-finals before injuring his right forearm during a practice session in Monaco.

Alcaraz, who missed the Monte Carlo and Barcelona tournaments before making a comeback in Madrid, said he had tweaked his style slightly on the advice of his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero.

“When I want to hit a forehand hard, I’m asking myself how the arm will react. It’s there in my mind,” the world No. 3 said, after beating Thiago Seyboth Wild 6-3, 6-3 in the third round on April 28.

“Juanqui (Ferrero) tells me to go with a relaxed hand and that’s what I do. I still don’t trust 100 per cent the forearm. I have doubts, it’s just in my head. You’re used to seeing me push my forehand to 200 per cent several times in matches. Juanqui tells me I don’t need to go that far.”

The second-seeded Spaniard, who is seeking a third straight trophy in Madrid ahead of May’s French Open, next plays Jan-Lennard Struff in a rematch of 2023’s title clash.

His compatriot Rafael Nadal, meanwhile, moved into the last 16 by overcoming Argentinian Pedro Cachin 6-1, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3 on April 29. He will meet Czech Jiri Lehecka next. AFP