Criticism of the US Open

“Chaos”, “amateurish”: anger in the tennis world

Andy Murray is annoyed about the night matches at the US Open.

(Bild: 2024 Getty Images, APA/AFP/Fabrice COFFRINI)

Late matches late into the night at the US Open are causing anger among the pros, including the now retired Brit Andy Murray. "The scheduling in tennis is total chaos," he grumbled on X. "It looks so amateurish when matches go until two, three, four o'clock."

With his harsh criticism, the former world number one takes the organizers of the Grand Slam tournament in New York to task: "Sort it out!"

Gauff: "I think this is a good start"
The organizers have even introduced a new rule. If a match has not yet started at 11.15 p.m. local time because the court is still blocked by a match, it can now be moved to another court. "I think it's a good start," said US star Coco Gauff, who had already complained about the late matches in the past: "I definitely think it's not healthy and not fair for those who have to play so late because it ruins their schedule."

Coco Gauff

(Bild: 2024 Getty Images)

Night games doubled since 2018
A rule that is not mandatory, of course. Aryna Sabalenka, for example, only started her third round match after midnight at 0.07 a.m. because she didn't want to play in a smaller arena than the Arthur Ashe Stadium. "Decisions need to be made earlier about when to change courts. There needs to be more predictability about when the pros play," Romain Rosenberg from the players' union PTPA told the German Press Agency in New York. The total number of night matches at Grand Slams has doubled since 2018. In addition, the chance of a player getting injured is 25 percent higher in a late match. "There needs to be more focus on player health," demands Rosenberg. "It's no wonder that players pull out of tournaments, are broken and injured. The physical and mental fatigue is real."

Not optimal recovery
If a match doesn't finish until two o'clock in the morning, a professional player is usually not in bed until five o'clock in the morning with treatments, media appointments and the drive back to the hotel. Not ideal, because sleep is one of the most important recovery factors.

Record until 4.55 a.m.
At this year's French Open, one of Novak Djokovic's five-set matches lasted until 3.07 am. The Grand Slam record is held by Lleyton Hewitt and Marcos Baghdatis when Hewitt won the 2008 Australian Open until 4.34 am. Alexander Zverev played the latest match in tennis history until 4.55 a.m. in Acapulco (Mexico).