The US Open confirmed on Thursday that no changes will be made to the scheduling of evening matches at this year’s tournament following a review into the matter.
In 2022 a series of matches went on into the early hours with the most notable of those being Carlos Alcaraz’s five-set win over Jannik Sinner which didn’t end until 2:50am. On the Arthur Ashe stadium, two matches are played at night with the start time not before 7pm. The session is billed as the pinnacle of the day and usually generates the highest interest among fans who are either vising Flushing Meadows or watching the tournament from their homes.
However, over the past couple of weeks, some players have called for an end to playing late at night due to health concerns. During the Canadian Open, former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina blasted the WTA over their management of the tournament schedule which she said left her feeling ‘destroyed.’ Her match against Daria Kasatkina didn’t end until 3am. Meanwhile, WTA Player Council member Victoria Azarenka has voiced her frustration over the matter and has called for changes to be made.
“I try to be reasonable, I try to compromise, I try to create ideas and we are moving at the slowest pace to get things done,” the two-time Australian Open champion said earlier this week in Cincinnati.
“This is the only sport in the world where you don’t know when you will play. I look at it as a player, and it’s ridiculous.
“I look at it as a fan, and I don’t know which matches I’m going to go watch because I have no clue unless you’re very fanatical.
“We need to appeal to a bigger crowd to watch our sport. The night matches have to start earlier in the 6PM and 8:30PM slots.”
Women’s world No.1 Iga Swiatek has also weighed in on the subject by saying that the sport should ‘focus more on what’s healthy for players’ before adding that officials need to look at data concerning viewership of matches on TV after 10pm to see if it justifies the current scheduling.
Addressing these concerns, US Open tournament director Stacey Allaster has stated that the tournament’s schedule will not be changing but it will continue to be evaluated over the coming weeks and months. Allaster previously served as the CEO of the WTA between 2009-2015 before being succeeded by Steve Simon.
“Without question, late-night matches were heavily discussed and reviewed after the 2022 US Open.” AFP news quoted Allaster as saying on Thursday.
“I think one of the challenges that we just have as a reality of tennis, we are not defined by a start and an end time. So that unpredictability of a match, sometimes we can have a short match, or we can have that long five-hour match. So at the moment, we’re staying the course with two night matches. We’ll continue to evaluate it.”
Lew Sherr, who is the CEO and Executive Director of the US Tennis Association, added that the night matches in New York are something ‘loved by fans’ and are fitting to the tournament.
“It’s part of the excitement. In some respects, it’s something that our fans love, the city that never sleeps. But having said that, we have an obligation to make sure that the athletes, their health is put forward. But we also know that New York fans are energized by night matches,” he said.
In a separate development, it has been confirmed that the same type of ball will be used by both men and women at the Grand Slam following some concerns from WTA players that they were playing with an inferior ball last year. Preference has been given to the Wilson “extra duty” felt ball instead of the “regular duty” as it is said to be ideal for hard courts such as the ones at the US Open.
The US Open will begin on August 28th. Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek are the defending champions.
