Jannik Sinner says players are ‘human too’ in a swipe at tournaments holding matches into the early hours, with one of those being his home event in Rome.
Earlier this week, a match between Luciano Darderi and Rafael Jodar didn’t start until shortly before 11pm local time after being delayed due to poor weather. There was then a further 20-minute delay to proceedings after smoke from nearby fireworks reduced visibility. Eventually, Darderi sealed victory at 2am after beating his Spanish rival in three sets.
“I’m not a big fan of taking the court so late—we’re human too,” Sinner told reporters in Italian after his quarter-final win on Thursday.
“Then there’s the jet lag—you go to bed late, then treatment, you have to eat, the press conference. Darderi has a day off but he’s expended a lot of energy.
“Let’s hope he recovers as much energy as possible. But when you take the court so late, it’s hard to play good tennis.”
It is the second time in less than a month that the world No.1 has voiced his concerns over the matter. At the Madrid Open, he criticised the decision to schedule two night matches starting from 8pm. He argues that those playing into the early hours will have their following day ‘messed up.’
“It’s tough when you schedule two matches starting from 8 [p.m.],” Sinner said on April 28th. “You cannot pretend that matches are over in one and a half hours each, and at 11 [p.m.] the first game is over. When Jódar played in the night it was very, very late, going on court around 11, finishing around 1, 1:15. In my point of view that’s too late.”
In 2024, both the ATP and WTA introduced rules aimed at minimising late-night finishes. These include not having more than five matches per scheduled on each court. However, tournament officials have discretion over scheduling when factoring in issues such as adverse weather. These rules are not applicable to the Grand Slams, which each have their own governing bodies. Wimbledon is the only major event with a curfew of 11pm.
Sinner is aiming to complete a career Golden Masters in Rome (winning all nine Masters events). In the semifinals, he will play Daniil Medvedev, whom he has beaten in 9 of their last 10 Tour-level meetings.
