Mladenovic, Garcia unload on French Tennis Federation over clothing mix-up

Kristina Mladenovic and Caroline Garcia criticized the Federation Francaise de Tennis (FFT) following their first-round exit at the Olympics, saying they were not told that doubles partners had to wear the same colored clothing.

Before going on court, the pair was told that it could be defaulted if the players did not change their attire. Mladenovic lent a spare outfit to Garcia, who has a different clothing sponsor than her partner. She wore the item in reverse so the logo could not be properly seen. They took the first set 6-0 from Japanese players Misaki Doi and Eri Hozumi, but dropped the next two to exit in the first round. The Frenchwomen were favorites to take home medals.

On Twitter the players said the episode affected them, and added that their federation should have informed them of the rules.

"To be at the Olympics, about to start our match, and be completely stressed because the ITF won't let us play in different colors," Mladenovic wrote.

She also noted that they could have been disqualified if she had not had another set of clothing in her bag.

"Thanks to our federation, so incompetent, to have ruined a sporting moment so important in the careers of Caroline Garcia and me,” she wrote. “…This incident off court cost a lot of energy, and unfortunately our tennis was not high and we could not succeed.”

Garcia said it "put a lot of unnecessary stress on both Kristina and I," and she questioned why the federation "isn't aware" of the rules.

The Frenchwomen were the No. 2 seeds.