By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, August 17, 2023

 

Despite concern over recent horrific scheduling, the US Open is not pulling the plug on late-night matches.

Photo credit: Mike Lawrence/USTA/US Open

Late-evening energy in Arthur Ashe Stadium can crackle with the revelry of celebrants in Times Square on New Year's Eve.

The US Open isn't planning to pull the plug on the party.

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Recently, some players and fans have advocated for the Tours adopting a night curfew to prevent a scheduling debacle like the one Elena Rybakina experienced in Montreal least week. Following a 3 a.m. finish in Montreal, 2002 Wimbledon champion Rybakina said she felt physically "destroyed" and was concerned about the impact on her body ahead of the US Open.

In a 2023 US Open Pre-Tournament Press Conference Zoom call with the media today, US Open Tournament Director Stacey Allaster was asked if the Flushing Meadows major will enact measures to limit its famous late-night matches.

The US Open is a spectacle and the late show will continue, Allaster said. 

The Flushing Meadows major is committed to continuing its tradition of hosting two night matches on Arthur Ashe Stadium.



The US Open tournament director cited several reasons why late-night tennis will continue to shine beneath the bright lights of Ashe Stadium.

Moving night sessions an hour earlier would create crowd clash between departing day session fans and arriving night session fans, the tournament does not want to deviate from its tradition of two night matches on Ashe Stadium because it would short-change fans and the buzz generated by electrifying evening matches in the city that never sleeps distinguishes the Open from the other majors.

"Look, each year after a US Open, we all sit down as a senior leadership team and talk about matters that came up. Without question late-night matches was heavily discussed and reviewed after the 2022 US Open," Allaster said. "We looked at the start time of the match.

"Could we start the evening session earlier, instead of 7, start it at 6? We decided that's not really a possibility because it's hard for New Yorkers to get here even by 7. There could be then the collision course within the afternoon. We talked about one match at night. We really felt that that was not a fairness thing to our fans."

While some players shrink beneath the pressure of playing on the world's largest Grand Slam stage at night, others are empowered by the experience.

Fighting off Jannik Sinner for five hours, 15 minutes in a US Open quarterfinal classic last September, Carlos Alcaraz drew on a special power source.

Rabid, rowdy New York City fans.

The US Open set a record for its latest-ever finish on an early Thursday morning when 19-year-old Alcaraz defeated 21-year-old Sinner, 6-3, 6-7(7), 6-7(0), 7-5, 6-3, in a 2022 quarterfinal clash that officially ended at 2:50 a.m.

"I feel great to be in my first semifinal in a Grand Slam," Alcaraz said. "I feel better reaching semifinal here in US Open. This tournament is amazing. The crowd is amazing, I would say the best in the world."



After Alcaraz rallied to out-duel Sinner, the Spanish sensation cited the roaring crowd as an inspiring energy source he plugged in to power his electric play.

"I mean, the energy I receive in this court at 3 a.m., it was unbelievable," Alcaraz said. "I mean, probably in other tournaments, other place, everybody went to their house to rest. But they keep in the court, supporting me. It was unbelievable.

"I feel great to have, well, play a semifinal here in US Open."

The challenge is trying to schedule fairly so that players pushed into late New York night fights have time to recover before their next match.



Night tennis in Arthur Ashe Stadium, like the neon lights of Times Square, will continue to shine brightly. 

"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. That unpredictability of a match, sometimes we can have a short match or we can have that long, five-hour match," Allaster said. "At the moment we're staying the course with two night matches. We'll continue to evaluate it.

"I think until we were to dramatically change a feature that we offer our fans, we'll experience this late-night moment here. The one thing we do know, in New York City, and we talk to the athletes, there's nothing like a night match in Arthur Ashe. They are some of the most historic and memorable moments for athletes."

Of course the US Open has a few advantages over Montreal, including a retractable roof over Arthur Ashe Stadium and the fact players have a day off between matches to recover at Grand Slams whereas they play daily in a WTA Masters 1000 event.

"I do understand, like, the fans wanting that late-night match in that prime spot. There has been incredible matches in that moment," Coco Gauff said. "In the Grand Slams I think it's a little bit more manageable because there is a day between matches.

"But I do think, like, in the one-week tournaments, especially when the events aren't combined, it's a little bit more easier to spread the matches out because there are more courts. I do think there has to be a balance with it."