"But would that fix the problem": Jessica Pegula muses on major change to stop late Grand Slam finishes after US Open debate roars on

Saturday, 19 September 2026 at 03:30

Jessica Pegula has mused on perhaps how to reduce the long night sessions at the US Open as debate continues to rumble on about how to combat it with words from Craig Tiley earlier in the week.

Pegula proposed perhaps decongesting the first week of the Grand Slams, but she said that while that is the case it wouldn't fix freak occurrences like Shelton-Alcaraz.

This game and others such as Kenin-Venus Williams went on until the early hours of the morning in New York and even in Europe, it was when most people were going to work the day after that the game finished such was the nature of it.

But when something like this happens, it does create debate whether it is something like the French Open not putting women on during prime-time and even at other majors, WTA stars such as Coco Gauff not wanting that prime slot it is always good for discussion.

For Pegula, there is no easy fix and she said that while she has a theory that could work, it is very much something that cannot be solved over night. She said that in reality the best of five sets should only be played late in the tournament. On tour 90% of the time, the top names play best of three like the women do in Grand Slams. But this adds vital time on and perhaps could go the other way.

“I don’t know what the answer is. My theory with five sets has always been they should just play five sets from maybe the quarters on, but that wouldn’t have solved that problem that day," said Pegula on The Players Box Podcast.

Jessica Pegula muses on US Open sets.

“I still think that they should play two out of three until the quarters and then switch it to three out of five. But would that fix the problem, no?”

Speaking about scrapping advantage and getting rid of let cords was something they weren't particularly keen on. “No ad, I hate no ad. I hope we never go to no ad. Don’t play lets, that’s stupid. Why do you want to win a point like that [if it trickles over the net]?”

Madison Keys also on the podcast chimed in. “Don’t play lets. Don’t play the let out. It’s not like it’s saving endless amounts of time.”

The reason itself this came up is due to debate which continues to roar on about keeping two matches during the Night Session next year and that unless a solution is found it is going to fall on deaf ears.

“I hear from a lot of people that it finishes too late and then I say, okay, and your suggestion is? I don’t get anything. You can’t control the length of the match.

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“While it feels really late, the reality is you’ve got to go and look at the data, But that being said, no one wants to finish at 3.30am in the morning, although the rest of the world in the daytime saw a pretty amazing match.

“We really like the two days and two nights. Two full sessions and you get a women’s match and a great men’s match, and that’s what our fans are telling us. They can come out and see three, four, five hours of entertainment and if it goes really long like the other night, that’s a great sporting ticket so I will keep it.”

Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief

Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.

Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.

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