“Worst slam”- Australian Open gets called out by disgruntled tennis fans after consecutive late-night finishes and ‘taking traditions for granted’

On Day 1, Aryna Sabalenka started her match against Ella Seidel at 11:41 p.m.


“Worst slam”- Australian Open gets called out by disgruntled tennis fans after consecutive late-night finishes and ‘taking traditions for granted’

Melbourne Park (Image via Australian Open/X)

Despite multiple attempts by the organizers to avoid late-night finishes this time, the Australian Open is once again being subjected to criticism by multiple fans on the internet, as on both Day 1 and Day 2 of the Slam, there have been matches that extended past 11:59 PM.

The organizers are being accused of taking the traditions of the Grand Slam for granted, as the timing and schedule of the matches are mostly ruled by TV rights. 

YouTube video

The organizers of the Australian Open took some measures ahead of the tournament this time, particularly to make sure that the late-night matches could be avoided. They added an extra day to the tournament and made it a 15-day tournament instead of the usual 14.

FS Video

They also ruled that the day session will feature a minimum of two matches instead of three and the night session will feature a minimum of two matches.

Unfortunately, even these changes in rules seem to have no effect and on both of the first two days of the tournament, matches have extended past 11:59 PM. 

On the first day, Jannik Sinner and Maria Sakkari won their respective matches pretty easily in the day session and it was expected to be the same for Novak Djokovic’s match in the night session. However, his match with Dino Prizmic went on for four hours and the Serb finally won in four sets. It was the longest first-round match ever in the World No. 1’s career. 

As a result, Aryna Sabalenka’s match against Ella Seidel started at 11.41 p.m. and went past midnight. Thankfully, the Belarusian needed just 53 minutes to wrap things up and avoided a super late finish. However, it is indeed concerning and organizers must make sure to avoid these late-night finishes. 

Read More: “She wants to go and kick my ass,” Cheeky Ons Jabeur gets realistic before her second-round faceoff with 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva at the Australian Open

Fans react to the consistent late-night finishes at the Australian Open 2024

Tennis fans are dissatisfied with the late-night finishes at the Australian Open.

The fact that the defending Australian Open champion, i.e., Aryna Sabalenka, is waking up to the court at 11:41 p.m. in front of a half-empty Rod Laver stadium has angered many. 

Craig-Tiley
Craig Tiley (Image via Fox Sports)

Many fans pointed out that adding one day to the tournament will make no difference if the organizers can not start the night shift by 7 p.m. 

Before the tournament I saw this and it didn’t make sense to me. You can spend 30 days in MELB, if you don’t start night session until 7 you’re going to have late night finishes.
One user wrote on X. 

Many are of the opinion that if this continues, the Australian Open should start following Wimbledon‘s system of continuing the matches the following day.

Sharing a wide spectrum of reactions online, here’s what fans have to say:

https://twitter.com/OM_AEL/status/1746881984151114086

Almost everyone agrees with the fact that late-night finishes are insulting to the athletes involved and blamed Australian Open CEO Craig Tiley for the same.

In case you missed it: