Why Aryna Sabalenka's US Open match started after midnight, the latest start in its history

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NEW YORK – How can a US Open tennis match start eight minutes after midnight?

It begins with a long afternoon of tennis at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Coco Gauff needed three sets and more than two hours to defeat Elina Switolina. Frances Tiafoe needed more than four hours and five sets to defeat Ben Shelton.

That match ended just before 7 p.m., but workers needed more than an hour to clean the stadium and prepare it for the night session, which did not begin until 8:30 p.m., 90 minutes after the scheduled start.

Then came the tumultuous encounter between Novak Djokovic and Alexei Popyrin, which ended in a stunning exit for the defending champion Djokovic. The whole thing lasted three hours and 19 minutes and ended just before midnight. Popyrin gave a short interview on court and then it was time for Aryna Sabalenka and Ekaterina Alexandrova to begin – at a time when world-class athletes should be going to bed in the middle of one of the most important events of the year, and in the first year of the US Open's new late-finishing match policy.

“The fact that they're starting matches this late is amazing,” said Robby Sikka, medical director of the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA). “There's no industry that allows this. Medical, air travel, transportation. We're protecting people. This is incredible.”

The United States Tennis Association (USTA) introduced the policy this year to reduce the likelihood of players staying on court into the early hours. A statement in those early hours of Saturday morning said: “The Tournament Referee considered a number of factors in determining whether to postpone play, including the pace of play of the Djokovic-Popyrin match, as well as weather conditions, fan accommodation and timing considerations.”

According to the organization's policies, it is authorized to move a game from a venue if the start time of the preceding, longer games is moved after 11 p.m. without asking the players whether they wish this.

Many people looked at their watches and wondered if and when Alexandrova and Sabalenka would move to another court. The stands were available.

After winning 2-6, 6-1 and 6-2, Sabalenka said she wanted to play in Ashe Stadium, the sport's largest stadium, but in front of the men.

Tournament officials watched the clock closely and tried to keep the lines of communication with the players open, delaying decisions as Djokovic won the third set at a gallop, changing the rhythm of a match that had been slower from the start. The fourth set also started quickly, but then slowed down as Popyrin regained his composure. The “final decision” would come at the end of that set at the latest. It turned out to be the end of the match.

The USTA made sure the stands would be available. Djokovic and Popyrin had played two long matches at the Australian Open and Wimbledon. That was probably to be expected. Louis Armstrong, Alexander Zverev and Tomas Martin Etcheverry were on the court until 2:35 a.m. The second-latest finish in tournament history, after Jannik Sinners and Carlos Alcaraz's 2:50 a.m. walk-off in 2022.

“No sport would allow that,” Sikka said. “And frankly, it's degrading for the women who waited because they could have just as easily played on another court and they would have gladly taken the time to rest. It's shameful.”

(Mike Stobe / Getty Images)