US Open organizers criticized over late match finishes
Organizers of the US Open tennis tournament in the United States have faced criticism over late match finishes. The match in which Ben Shelton unexpectedly defeated defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals ended at 3:33 a.m. local time on Wednesday. This was the latest match finish in the tournament's history.
As The Japan Times reports, during the first week of the tournament, three matches ended after 2:00 a.m., while two more continued well past midnight. The latest-starting match, involving Venus Williams, began at 12:13 a.m.
Players' reaction
After losing to Sofia Kenin in the first round, 46-year-old Williams called such a match start time less than ideal. According to her, she does not know of competitions in other sports where athletes have to begin playing so late, and there is room for improvement in the schedule.
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American Jessica Pegula, the world No. 3, noted that the problem concerns not only player recovery and sporting fairness. In her view, matches continuing after midnight also affect fans, broadcasters, tournament staff and the media. She questioned the sense of finishing matches at 2:00 a.m. and suggested that the evening session could start an hour earlier.
Possible schedule changes
A US Open representative called Tuesday one of the most unusual playing days in the tournament's history and said organizers should assess all options for shaping the schedule in the future. At the same time, starting evening sessions earlier than 7:00 p.m. is difficult because fans in New York need time to get to the Flushing Meadows complex after work, while organizers must take into account spectator flows during the day and evening sessions.
Among the possible proposals being discussed is holding men's early-round matches in a best-of-three-sets format. American Frances Tiafoe supported keeping the traditional best-of-five-sets format, stressing that five-set matches have given tennis many outstanding contests.
