Aryna Sabalenka’s US Open showdown with Ekaterina Alexandrova recorded the latest start in tournament history when the women took the court after midnight in Queens.
What preluded the ill-timed contest was an afternoon and evening filled with prolonged games and upsets at Flushing’s Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Coco Gauff took three sets and over two hours to beat Elina Svitolina. Meanwhile, Frances Tiafoe took over four hours and five sets to defeat Ben Shelton.
The latter wrapped up just before 7pm, but venue staff needed more than an hour to clean and prepare the stadium for the night session. The action resumed at 8.30, over an hour and a half after its scheduled start.
What followed was another lengthy contest between Novak Djokovic and Alexei Popyrin. The encounter lasted three hours and 19 minutes and finished with Djokovic’s stunning exit from the tournament.
Aryna Sabalenka’s US Open match with Ekaterina Alexandrova began after midnight
Sabalenka ultimately won the game 2-6, 6-1, 6-2, hitting her last ball at 1.48am
After upsetting the defending champion, Popyrin had a quick interview on the court before Sabalenka and Alexandrova took to the floor as America yawned ready for bed.
The late start set a terrible precedent after the US Open’s new Late Finishing Match Policy was put in place.
‘The fact that they would start matches this late is astounding,’ said Robby Sikka, the medical director for the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA). ‘There is no industry that allows things like this. Medicine, airline travel, transportation. We protect folks. This is incredible.’
The US Tennis Association introduced the policy this year to soften the chances of players staying on the court during unreasonable hours.
In a statement on Saturday morning, USTA said that the ‘the Tournament Referee took into account several factors while deciding as to whether to move the match, including the pace of play of the Djokovic-Popyrin match, as well as weather conditions, fan accommodations, and timing considerations.’
Novak Djokovic and Alexei Popyrin’s encounter lasted three hours and 19 minutes
After upsetting the defending champion, Popyrin had a quick interview on the court
The policy gives the organization the right to move a match to a different court if the matches before it pushes the start time beyond 11pm, without giving players the chance to combat the decision.
With The Grandstand available, fans constantly glanced at their wrists, wondering when Sabalenka and Alexandrova would be moved.
After winning, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2, Sabalenka revealed wanting to play on Ashe, the biggest stadium in the sport, but before the men. Sabalenka would hit her last ball at 1.48am.
Tournament officials kept track of the time and tried to keep lines of communication open with the athletes. However, they delayed the decisions after Djokovic won the third set and changed the rhythm of the slow-starting match. The end ultimately came at the bottom of the fourth when the Australian regained his composure and closed the game.
Coco Gauff took three sets and over two hours to beat Elina Svitolina
The pair starred in two lengthy matches in the past at the Australian Open and Wimbledon. Despite a precautionary past and having a backup court available, Sabalenka and Alexandrova kept their match where it had been planted.
Meanwhile, Alexander Zverev and Tomas Martin Etcheverry battled until 2.35am on Louis Armstrong. The second-latest finish in tournament history, behind Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz’s 2.50am walk-off in 2022.
‘No sport would allow this,’ Sikka said. ‘And frankly, it’s demeaning to the women that waited because they could just as easily have played on another court and they would love to get the rest. It’s shameful.’
