Crisis Communications Lessons from Others: The French Open "Night Session" Debacle

Amelie Mauresmo, tournament director of the French Open at Roland-Garros, this week offered a critical crisis communications lesson.

Since 2021, the French Open has featured only one match per night during the two-week tournament. Out of 44 "night sessions," as they are called, only four have been women's matches. Each year, Mauresmo has faced backlash for sending the message that women are not worthy of the prime time spot. 

According to The Athletic, in a "confrontational" news conference yesterday, Mauresmo said, "It has never been that the girls are not worthy to play at night. It’s never been this, and I will not accept that you carry this message.”

Mauresmo then explained the technical reasons behind the tournament's decision to feature men's matches over women's. She explained that since women play the best out of three sets and the men play the best out of five, spectators get a longer match from the men. She also added something about contractual obligations.

It isn't a convincing explanation. From a crisis communications perspective, it's not an effective one either. The explanation Mauresmo gave ignores fans and reporters' biggest concern, which is that female players are being shut out of the prime time spots. Fans and reporters don't want technical reasons for the tournament's decisions. They want the tournament to admit it was wrong and to start featuring women's matches in this coveted spot.

Mauresmo and the tournament could shut down this crisis by taking these steps:

1. Apologize and take responsibility for not featuring more women's matches in the night sessions. 

2. Explain what the tournament can do immediately to address this mistake. For instance, the tournament can begin this year by featuring women in at least some of the remaining night sessions. (Following the news conference, the tournament announced the Saturday night session: a men's match. Yes, it's Novak Djokovic, but a lost opportunity just the same.) 

3. Commit to a long-term fix. Commit to featuring women and men equally in night sessions at future French Open tournaments. 

So what's the lesson? Your audiences don't want excuses and reasons for your action; they want you to fix the problem. Follow the steps below to help craft your crisis response:

1. Empathize, acknowledge, and apologize. 

2. Explain what you are doing to fix the problem now.

3. Commit to ensuring it won't happen again by explaining, and committing to, a long-term solution. 

Does your team have a crisis communications plan? Are you ready to address a potential crisis effectively? If not, let's talk. Contact me at Mindy Hamlin.

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