Craig Tiley has vowed to keep the US Open’s day-night format in 2027, even after Ben Shelton beat Carlos Alcaraz at 3:33am local time in the quarter-finals.
Sky Sports Tennis reports that the US Open chief has confirmed he intends to keep two matches running at a time at Flushing Meadows for next year’s tournament. The official stated he has no plans for altering the schedule.
Shelton and Alcaraz ended their five-set contest well into the night, with the match concluding at 3:33am local time on Wednesday after lasting nearly five hours. The finish came when most were already asleep.
A record of late finishes
Over the first six days, the competition had already broken its own mark with three post-midnight finishes. Two more matches stretched past 1am. The players have long held a fondness for the energy of competing at night under the lights in the nation’s largest city.
The dispute has taken on new force in the midst of a wider drive by leading figures for bigger purses and changes to welfare and working conditions. Matches running long into the night have become a focal point in the argument about existence on the circuit.
Like the US Open, the Australian Open has faced criticism for notoriously late finishes. The other two Grand Slams have imposed checks: Wimbledon halts play under an 11pm local curfew, and the French Open limits night sessions to one match.
Tiley’s data defence
The duration of games has grown by roughly 25 minutes on average over the past ten years, according to Tiley, who attributed the rise to two causes: the shot clock and the use of towels.
“What’s really interesting is in the last 10 years the amount of tennis from when you hit a point to when a point stops has been about the same.”
He pointed out that the current average duration of men’s matches does not rank among the top four average durations recorded over the last 10 years.
“”While it feels really late, the reality is you’ve got to go and look at the data,” Tiley said. “But that being said, no one wants to finish at 3.30am in the morning, although the rest of the world in the daytime saw a pretty amazing match.”
Fans want it
The format was defended directly by Tiley himself, who said the fans tell him they want it.
“We really like the two days and two nights. Two full sessions and you get a women’s match and a great men’s match, and that’s what our fans are telling us,” he said. “They can come out and see three, four, five hours of entertainment and if it goes really long like the other night, that’s a great sporting ticket so I will keep it.”
While he admitted receiving complaints, he noted that people seldom offer ideas on how to address them.
“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,” Tiley said.
A note to bosses
Hours after the Shelton-Alcaraz match ended, the US Open posted a playful reminder about the late night on X. The post included a fill-in-the-blank letter that lets fans excuse themselves from work on Wednesday.
“We understand how important showing up is, but sometimes you have to make time for things you’re passionate about,” the post stated. “Carlos Alcaraz and Ben Shelton put on an absolute stellar performance during their US Open quarterfinal, and ______ was a fully committed fan who was completely locked in from start to finish.”
Tiafoe weighs in
A common proposal when late finishes become a recurring issue involves cutting men’s matches to best-of-three sets during the early rounds. That approach faces resistance from people who consider five-set contests essential to Grand Slams.
“I think for the men’s we should stick with three out of five,” Frances Tiafoe said.
“I don’t know where the conversation is going, what people are leaning to. Everyone is going to have an opinion, everyone is different.”
“We’ve seen so many epics in five-setters. Do I love five-setters? Absolutely not. There’s a lot of times where I’m up two sets to love and I’d love to shake hands and go home. But it’s tennis, man.”
Starting earlier
The case for beginning evening matches before 7pm grows difficult because tennis-loving New Yorkers say they need time to reach Flushing Meadows after their day’s labor. Those planning the event must also deal with managing crowds that come for both daytime and nighttime sessions.
Sky Sports is airing the US Open starting from August 30, with the Laver Cup following at The O2 in London from 25-27 September. Both tournaments are available through the Sky Sports app and streaming service NOW.
The fans have spoken, and the format stays the same.
Source: skysports.com
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