The 2024 Australian Open has only just started but scheduling issues have already become an issue, with defending champion Aryna Sabalenka taking the court around midnight on Sunday.
The Belarusian could be seen pacing outside Rod Laver Arena on Sunday night, waiting for the end of the four-set match between Novak Djokovic and Dino Prizmic, which lasted four hours and one minute.
Sabalenka needed just 22 minutes to win the first set of her match against German teenager Ella Seidel and then needed another half hour to wrap up her match 6-0 6-1.
It is the latest in a long line of Australian Open matches starting extremely late and ending in the early morning, despite the tournament making a huge change to its schedule after complaints from fans and star players alike.
“I feel all the support and atmosphere… thank you so much for staying late and supporting us,” Sabalenka said on the pitch to a half-empty Rod Laver Arena, the empty seats illustrating the extent of the scheduling problem.
“It’s very important, thank you.”
Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka did not arrive on the field until close to midnight
Rod Laver Arena was half empty for Sunday night’s late-starting game
The reigning champions’ post-match press conference was subsequently canceled due to the late finish, which is sure to irritate fans who wanted to hear from the reigning champions.
New scheduling requirements have been introduced by the WTA and ATP with immediate effect in an effort to reduce the number of late finishes to overnight sessions.
But tournament organizers at Melbourne Park, who are not bound by the new regulations, say little can be done to prevent incidents such as Any Murray and Thanassi Kokkinakis’ 4.05am finish in 2023.
The new rules, which force night sessions to start at 7.30pm and prevent matches from taking place on the pitch after 11pm, will be trialled at tournaments in 2024 before being reviewed at the end of the year.
Day sessions will also be limited to three matches, but the Australian Open had already preceded the changes with its own attempt to tackle late finishes by adding an extra day to the match and reducing it to two-day matches.
It came after Murray called his victory last January a ‘farce’, saying his match had started too late at 10pm.
“If my kid was a ball boy for a tournament and he comes home at 5 in the morning, as a parent I’ll snap at that,” he said at the time.
Extreme heat or wet weather could put pressure on the Open schedule this year, but the WTA and ATP will consider “waivers” to hold matches at later times, the tours said in a joint statement.
The Grand Slam has a history of matches that start and end very late
Djokovic suggested fans returning to their seats between matches also slows down the action
“The number of late match finishes (defined as matches finishing after midnight) has increased significantly in recent years, negatively impacting players and fans,” the statement said.
‘This is related to an increase in the average match duration on tour.’
Djokovic has suggested that part of the problem stems from another rule change that is slowing down the action.
For the first time, fans will be allowed to return to their seats outside the stadium at Melbourne Park between each match. Previous years this was only allowed when changing final destination.
“Look, I mean, I understand the motive behind it is to improve the experience for fans, right?” said Djokovic.
‘We play for fans. We want fans to have a great, exciting experience on the pitch.
‘It’s difficult, I must say. I understand that and support it to a certain extent, but at the same time I have been used to a certain atmosphere my whole career, my whole life. When that changes, it kinda messes you up.
“Today we lost quite a bit of time when they allowed people to come to their seats even though it wasn’t a changeover. My opponent waited for them to sit down. It dragged a lot.
“I don’t know if this is really the best rule, but I understand that it’s probably better from a tournament and fan perspective because they don’t want to wait. They want to come out and enjoy every point.”