Aryna Sabalenka & Ekaterina Alexandrova’s 3rd round match sets a new record as the latest start time in US Open history. 12:08 in the morning. Yikes.
Women's tennis scheduling under the microscope again as Aryna Sabalenka's US Open win sets latest start time record
WTASaturday, 31 August 2024 at 15:02
Women's tennis scheduling is under the microscope again for all the wrong reasons as Aryna Sabalenka started her tie against Ekaterina Alexandrova in the latest slot in US Open history.
It was 12:08am local time when the match started on Arthur Ashe Stadium as Sabalenka simply said after the match about what she was doing to stay ready. “I was praying that they’re not gonna play so long."
Sabalenka lost the first set 6-2 before taking the next two 6-1, 6-2 recovering from a slow start against the Russian to book her Last 16 spot. There she faces Elise Mertens.
“That was an interesting decision in between matches to have this 1 hour and 20 minute gap. I was like ‘no way.. I’m gonna start at midnight.’ And that’s actually what happened," said Sabalenka.
"That was tricky. We stayed with the team and tried to relax. Right before the match we did our warm up and we hoped for the best.”
Again though it highlights an issue. That being of women's tennis scheduling. Alexei Popyrin v Novak Djokovic took centre stage with the Aussie ace winning and perhaps given that only really now Jannik Sinner remains, the top female stars may now be given prime slot.
Sabalenka will certainly hope so. Often a bone of conjecture in the WTA locker room, it also serves as something that can go the opposite way.
Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek for instance are two players who are well known for asking for day session matches and don't like playing at night so are victims of their own circumstance. But a late finish like this proposes that the problem is still very much there.
Not only that but it is a Grand Slam problem with fans having to stay in stadiums late mainly to appease the broadcasters and the tournaments as a result being in a rock and a hard place to stop such an issue. But another crazy finish doesn't help their cause.
Aryna Sabalenka spoke about the late start time after beating Alexandrova close to 2 a.m. at US Open “That was an interesting decision in between matches to have this 1 hour and 20 minute gap. I was like ‘no way.. I’m gonna start at midnight.’ And that’s actually what happened.…
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- Or the NFL moves up a week ;-)
AceOfBase14-09-2024 - They need to stop having the USO finals weekend compete with NFL opening weekend. Tennis sucks at scheduling!
smurphie92413-09-2024 - Anti-Social media has no guardrails... and the Lowest Common Denominators are free to demean and denounce anyone, any time; and obviously do so on a daily basis. Why? Because thus far, given the lack of oversight (much less control) over these public immorally bankrupt entities, there is little-to-no possibility of legal repercussion.
mandoist11-09-2024 - Bitterness will always surface the more one cannot resist the urge to spew personal feelings. Unless this woman is running for office she doesn't get -- nor deserve -- the opportunity to literally reinvent what she plainly said the first time. She's no longer a tennis player, does not represent the sport, and should therefor refrain from meaningless drivel and snottyass remarks about her former colleagues.mandoist11-09-2024
- How is it not clear to pro tennis Elitists in charge that flooding the sport with more and more tournaments is NOT the answer? Such decisions made through PURE GREED disguised as "offering more up & coming players a chance to compete". This sport is, at the very foundation, a Business. Any corporate entity should know by now that introducing too many 'franchises' to a limited market is counterproductive to say the very least? And let us not forget the Top Athletes cannot be everywhere week-to-week no matter how much money the tourneys throw at them. Therefor you get a situation such as the US Open missing out on the Best-of-the-Best. Simple economics -- and definitely common sense -- seems to be lost on the WTA/ATP 'experts' in the offices.mandoist11-09-2024
