Carlos Alcaraz Urges Tennis to Stop Matches Ending in the Early Morning
Carlos Alcaraz has voiced his frustration with tennis tournaments that extend matches into the early morning hours. His recent US Open quarterfinal against Ben Shelton wrapped up at 3:33 a.m., marking the latest finish ever recorded at the event.
Speaking to reporters in London just before the Laver Cup, Alcaraz said, "It is too much. They are going to have to do something. I’m not saying 3:30, but even finishing at 12 is too late already."
Rising Frequency of Late Finishes
Late-night conclusions have become more frequent in Grand Slam tournaments. Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner previously held the US Open record with a 2:50 a.m. finish in 2022. At the French Open in 2024, Novak Djokovic and Lorenzo Musetti played until 3:06 a.m. This year’s US Open also saw Venus Williams and Sofia Kenin start a match at 12:13 a.m., setting a new record for the latest match start time there.
The Toll on Players
Alcaraz explained the impact of such schedules: "For an athlete finishing at 3:30 in the morning, we had to leave the courts at 4:30, then back to the hotel. You don’t go to bed until 6:30 or 7 in the morning. To recover for the next match, the person you play has an advantage." The late finish made recovery difficult and potentially gave opponents an edge.
Scheduling Challenges at the US Open
The US Open sets one men's and one women's night-session match per evening, usually starting shortly after 7 p.m. But during the quarterfinals this year, two daytime matches extended into final-set tiebreaks, delaying the first night match to about 8:20 p.m. This chain reaction pushed Alcaraz’s match into the early hours.
The USTA did not respond to requests for comment. Earlier, USTA director Craig Tiley defended the scheduling, stating, "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."
Similar Issues at Other Grand Slams
Other major tournaments struggle with late finishes too. The Australian Open has seen three matches end even later than Alcaraz-Shelton’s, including the record for the latest Grand Slam finish at 4:34 a.m. in 2008 between Lleyton Hewitt and Marcos Baghdatis. The French Open introduced a night session in 2021 starting at 8:15 p.m. but faces criticism for mostly scheduling men’s matches then.
Only Wimbledon, which has a strict 11 p.m. curfew set by local ordinance, avoids these ultra-late finishes.
Alcaraz’s Final Thoughts
"It is a shame a match like this didn’t reach a lot of people because they have to go to bed, they have to work in the morning," Alcaraz said. "If that match had started at 7 or 8 p.m., at the maximum finishing at 11, the stadium would have been packed. A lot had to miss it because of the schedule."
