New York has been called the city that never sleeps, and the U.S. Open is continuing its tradition of playing two matches each night at Arthur Ashe Stadium despite complaints by players over late-night (or early-morning) finishes.
It’s not uncommon for the second night match on the Arthur Ashe court to go well into the wee hours.
Last year, Carlos Alcaraz’s marathon win over Jannik Sinner finished at a U.S. Open record of 2:50 a.m.
In 2014, Milos Raonic and Kei Nishikori played a match that ended at 2:26 a.m.
It has become part and parcel of the tournament at Flushing Meadows.
“It’s part of the excitement. In some respects, it’s something that our fans love, the city that never sleeps,” USTA CEO Lew Sherr said on Thursday. “But having said that, we have an obligation to make sure that the athletes, their health is put forward. But we also know that New York fans are energized by night matches.”
Officials suggested that playing on the sport’s biggest stage, figuratively and literally (Arthur Ashe’s 23,700 capacity is the largest in tennis), is more electrifying under the lights.
“One thing we do know is that in New York City, when 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,” said U.S. Open tournament director Stacey Allaster, who added changes were debated but decided against.
“Without question, late-night matches were heavily discussed and reviewed after the 2022 U.S. Open. One of the challenges that we just have as a reality of tennis, we’re not defined by a start and an end time. So that unpredictability of a match, sometimes we can have a short match, or we can have that long five-hour match. So at the moment, we’re staying the course with two night matches.”
They’re sticking with it even if it’s more unpopular than they’re suggesting.
Venus Williams, a two-time champ who will compete in her 24th U.S. Open as a wild card, called the second night match “brutal” and said she’d like to see it done away with.
And both World No. 1 Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina ripped the scheduling during the WTA Montreal Open.
But don’t expect changes in Flushing.
The men and women will use the same ball this year, after some women complained about having to use an inferior product last year.
Swiatek, the defending champ, said the lighter women’s ball didn’t hold its strength as long as the men’s did.
The U.S. Open had been the only one of the four Grand Slams to use different balls. Allaster said the kind of ball being used was up to the players and their tour.
“Every year, the WTA informs us of what Wilson U.S. Open ball they’d like their athletes to play with,” Allaster said. “Last year during the tournament, we had some players that wanted to change the ball and I met with some of those players and said ‘Look, talk to [WTA chairman and CEO] Steve Simon, talk to your player council representatives. If the WTA wants to change the ball, no problem. Wilson can accommodate that.’ It’s no extra cost.
“The only condition we gave to the WTA was we need to know what ball you want to play with in 2023 at the end of the 2022 U.S. Open. That’s how far the lead times are for Wilson to produce the volume of our U.S. Open ball.”
