Andy Murray speaks of “total chaos” – anger over night games

The matches at the US Open are actually no longer supposed to start at midnight. But the newly introduced rule is not really being enforced. Much to the annoyance of some observers.

The times at the US Open have sparked a new debate. “The scheduling in tennis is total chaos,” complained the recently retired Briton Andy Murray. “It looks so amateurish when games go on until two, three, four o’clock.” The former world number one concluded his tirade with a request to the professional organizations and the Grand Slam organizers: “Clear this up.”

This year, the organizers of the US Open have introduced a new time policy. If a match has not started by 11:15 p.m. local time because the court is still blocked by the previous match, it can now be moved to another court. “I think this is a good start,” said US star Coco Gauff, who has 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.”

However, the new rule has not yet been applied in New York – for example, the third round match of Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka did not begin until after midnight at 0.07 a.m. This was also at the request of the world number two, who preferred to play in Arthur Ashe Stadium as planned rather than in a smaller arena.

“Decisions must be made earlier about when places will be swapped. There needs to be more predictability about when the professionals will play,” Romain Rosenberg of the players’ union PTPA told the German Press Agency in New York.

According to PTPA, 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. “More focus needs to be placed on the health of the players,” says Rosenberg. “It’s no wonder that players pull out of tournaments, broken and injured. The physical and mental fatigue is real.”

When the pros in New York play until two o’clock, they are usually not in bed before five o’clock after treatments, media appointments and the trip to the hotel in Manhattan. But it can go even later. At the French Open this year, a five-set match by Novak Djokovic lasted until 3:07 a.m. The Grand Slam record is held by Lleyton Hewitt and Marcos Baghdatis when Hewitt won the Australian Open in 2008, when it lasted until 4:34 a.m. The latest match in tennis history was played by Zverev until 4:55 a.m. in Acapulco (Mexico).