Carlos Alcaraz spoke out against tennis matches stretching into the early hours of the morning. His recent US Open quarterfinal against Ben Shelton finished at 3:33 a.m., marking the latest finish in the tournament's history.
"It is too much," Alcaraz said during a London press conference before the Laver Cup. "They are going to have to do something. I’m not saying 3:30, but even finishing at 12 is already too late."
Late Finishes Becoming More Frequent in Grand Slams
Alcaraz has experienced some of the most extended match endings. In 2022, he and Jannik Sinner set a record at the US Open with a 2:50 a.m. finish. The French Open also saw a late finish in 2024 when Novak Djokovic and Lorenzo Musetti wrapped up a match at 3:06 a.m.
This year’s US Open saw Venus Williams and Sofia Kenin start a match at 12:13 a.m., setting the record for the latest start time in the event’s history.
Impact on Players and Scheduling Challenges
Alcaraz described the difficulties of finishing matches so late: "When you finish at 3:30 in the morning, you leave the courts at 4:30, get back to the hotel, and don’t sleep until 6:30 or 7 a.m. To recover for the next match, your opponent has an advantage."
The US Open typically schedules one men's and one women's night session each evening, beginning shortly after 7 p.m. However, during this year's quarterfinals, long day matches pushed the start of the first night match to around 8:20 p.m., triggering a domino effect that led to the marathon match between Alcaraz and Shelton.
The USTA did not respond to requests for comment, but tournament director Craig Tiley defended the schedule, 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."
Other Grand Slam Tournaments Also Face Late Finishes
The issue isn’t unique to the US Open. The Australian Open follows a similar two-match night-session format and has recorded finishes later than the Shelton-Alcaraz match, including the latest Grand Slam finish ever at 4:34 a.m. in 2008 between Lleyton Hewitt and Marcos Baghdatis.
Roland-Garros introduced a night session in 2021 starting at 8:15 p.m., usually featuring only one match. Still, it has faced criticism for mainly scheduling men’s matches in the evening slot.
Among the four majors, only Wimbledon, with its neighborhood-imposed 11 p.m. curfew, has consistently avoided these ultra-late finishes.
Alcaraz Reflects on Fans and Match Timing
"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., max finishing at 11, the stadium would have been packed. A lot had to miss it because of the schedule."
