Radical changes incoming at Australian Open? Chiefs consider changing men's and women's finals past 2025

The organizers of the Australian Open are contemplating a significant change in the scheduling of the men's and women's finals, potentially setting a precedent in Grand Slam tournaments.

Currently, all four Grand Slam events (Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and the US Open) schedule the women's final for Saturday and the men's final for Sunday. However, the chief executives of Tennis Australia are considering the idea of having the men play on Saturday and the women on Sunday.

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The primary reason behind this proposed change is to benefit the viewers, especially those watching on television. Men's matches, played as best-of-five sets, can often extend into lengthy encounters, requiring viewers to stay awake until late at night or, alternatively, choose between watching the match and sacrificing sleep, particularly considering most people work on Mondays.

Conversely, women, who play best-of-three sets, typically have shorter matches, alleviating viewers from the dilemma of choosing between watching the match or getting little sleep. According to the Australian Associated Press (AAP), the proposal was discussed during the 2024 AO. “While the radical move is unlikely to take place in 2025, flipping the men’s and women’s finals is seen as a win-win for fans, not least those watching on TV”.

The AAP also asserted that the potential change in the scheduling of the finals would be beneficial for women: “it would also thrust the women further into the spotlight at what would be the first Grand Slam to stage their title match as the climax of the tournament”.

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Players welfare in focus

The delicate point arises with the rest that the organization aims to ensure for male tennis players, as they intend to maintain a 48-hour recovery period between quarterfinals and semifinals. Currently, men play quarterfinals on Wednesday, semifinals on Friday, and the final on Sunday.

On the women's side, quarterfinals are currently played on Wednesday, semifinals on Thursday, and the final on Saturday: '[Craig] Tiley would not compromise on player welfare if organizers were unable to fashion a way for the men to play every second day.'

“But it’s understood that now the Open runs for 15 days, with a Sunday start and more wriggle room, swapping the men’s and women’s finals is back up for consideration.”