Ben Shelton’s record-breaking late-night victory over Carlos Alcaraz has reignited the debate over scheduling at the US Open, where a flurry of finishes in the early hours have prompted calls for a curfew or radical demands for shorter matches. Shelton’s 4hr 28min quarter-final defeat of Alcaraz wrapped up at 3:34 am on Wednesday — the latest finish in the 145-year history of the US Open. While late-night finishes at Flushing Meadows are nothing new — in 2022 Alcaraz himself battled Jannik Sinner until 2.50 am in the previous latest finish — this year’s tournament has reached new levels.
Former British tennis star Tim Henman, working at the US Open as an analyst for Sky Sports, believes while the famously raucous night sessions in New York are an integral part of the tournament, a provision could be introduced to move matches to another court if they have not started by a certain time. “I think they need to fix the night session. “I think they should play men’s singles and then maybe a doubles match. “If you do women’s singles you can still have another doubles match, or another women’s singles. You’ll still get four sets of play minimum. “Even if you put the women’s match on first and it’s three sets, the guys start by 10pm. If a men’s match goes five sets, you start at midnight. “You’re never on the court at midnight and you never start a match at midnight, so it’s counterproductive for everybody, spectators and the players. “It’s hard. It is not ideal as a professional athlete when you’re playing at that time, but if you look at it from a tournament’s point of view, it’s a massive part of their business model to have those two sessions, to sell, you know, tickets here on Ashe,” Henman reflected.
It’s too late,” said Navratilova.
Talking about the scheduling earlier in the tournament, Navratilova suggested the US Open should limit the evening session to either one men’s or women’s singles match, in addition to a doubles tie.
