By Erik Gudris | Monday, August 31, 2026
Photo credit: Getty Images
Is there any other sport that starts a match or game well after midnight?
That’s what Venus Williams and many others, including myself, wondered, after she and her opponent Sofia Kenin concluded their first round US Open match at just after 2 a.m. Monday morning.
In a meeting of former major champions, Kenin found her way past the two-time US Open winner Williams 6-2, 7-6(6) in a match that began at 12:13 am, the latest ever start for any US Open match in history.
That was because the previous opening match on Arthur Ashe Stadium, which started at 7:00 p.m., went the distance as Mariano Navone pulled off a five-set upset win over a weary and physically compromised No. 4 seed Novak Djokovic that took over four hours to complete.
Despite accepting the loss, Williams was clearly displeased with the late start and late finish after 2 a.m., when she spoke to the media afterward.
“It’s not ideal. I would have preferred something else. I just don’t know any other sport where you have to start that late. I definitely think there’s room for improvement there.”
While no one can predict how long a tennis match will go, and what may disrupt or suspend it, especially the weather, late starts to matches at tennis tournaments are nothing new. And this is at all levels of tournaments – from Challengers to 250s, 500s, Masters 1000s, and the majors.
Late night matches at the US Open, especially with rowdy New Yorkers getting involved from the stands, will always be one of the trademarks of the event. But it’s one thing to end a match around midnight or later. But to start one after midnight, to keep the schedule intact, and honor ticket holders, is ridiculous.
And it’s not just the players that are impacted. Think of the tournament staff, umpires, and especially ball kids who are well up past their bedtime. It’s not very healthy all around.
Back in 2018 when he was still playing, Andy Murray, while playing at the Washington, DC event, complained about late starts, not just for himself, but for everyone involved.
Murray, who defeated Marius Copil in a three set battle that ended just after 3 a.m., didn’t mince words afterward about the scheduling, which was impacted by rain delays that week.
“Finishing matches at three in the morning is not good,” Murray said. “It’s not good for the players. It’s not good for anyone, I don’t think, involved in the event. It’s not good for fans, TV. Nobody.”
“I’m giving my view right now as someone who’s just come back from a very, very long injury layoff,” Murray added. “I don’t think I should be put in a position like that, when you’re expected to come out and perform the next day. I don’t think it’s reasonable. And I’m disappointed with that, because I know that the weather’s tricky and I know it is for the scheduling, but it’s a very difficult position to be in.”
While Murray cited that late night matches aren’t good for TV, it’s very apparent, especially for the US Open, that the tennis broadcasters, who are paying big bucks for the right to broadcast the event, prefer having night matches to capture a bigger audience at home. Those broadcasters will very likely have a say in when matches can start.
The fact that players have complained about late starts for years now, with no real change, suggests they need to put their collective feet down and work with the tournaments, no matter the size, to find a solution.
One could be a hard rule that no match should start after 11 pm, even if the schedule has been delayed by weather.
If one thinks such a rule would be hard to enforce, just be reminded of the Wimbledon curfew. The curfew, enforced by the local council and not the tournament, ensures that all matches will end by 11 p.m. If needed, a match will be suspended and resumed the next day.
The curfew may seem like only something that Wimbledon, with all of its traditions, could honor each year, but it’s surely something that other tournaments could adopt, as long as the players agree to it.
Perhaps there are other solutions. But there has to be a solution soon, or else more players, fans, and media will complain about having to say “Good morning” as yet another tennis match continues into the wee hours.
Venus whining again after she gets a WC and a 14th straight loss. Maybe she should play some 125’s . She won’t win their either. The legs are gone. Time to move on and let other deserving players compete.
Wild cards shouldn’t be wasted on washed up players, likes Venus. She does not need or deserve the prize money either. Use the WC on
players who need a boost to get started. Venus should be ashamed of herself for continuing to ask or accept them.