US Open tournament director Stacey Allaster recently addressed the issue of late-night matches. In a podcast with Andy Roddick, she enlightened everybody on how sports broadcaster ESPN plays a major role in scheduling matches.
Revealing that ESPN pressures the organizers to schedule matches no earlier than 7 p.m., Allaster revealed that they don’t have an option to look to start early at the US Open, especially at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
“We looked at starting earlier on Ashe. We cannot start before seven; that’s an ESPN thing. That’s just reality,” said the US Open director, as quoted by Tennis Channel.
She also added how it becomes very competitive for tennis to gain viewership when the NFL opening week coincides with the US Open. Speaking about the same, she detailed how this isn’t something they can evade and that it plays an integral part in scheduling decisions.
“The best thing about tennis is the variety of personalities that make up this cast of entertainment. Then it’s the competition, and the competition is heavy with the NFL. We are in a highly competitive entertainment space, and that’s why this energy within the entire US Open team is how we’re going to continue to drive.” said Allaster.
A similar issue transpired during the 2024 French Open when the tournament director, Amelie Mauresmo, took a similar stance. She, too, has accepted that it was because of the deal with Amazon that they had to push the evening matches to late night.
The Professional Tennis Players Association also researched how increased late-night matches make athletes more prone to injuries. At the same time, it has a drastic impact on their mental health, something that players have repeatedly mentioned.
However, ESPN’s stance to not start the match at Arthur Ashe before 7 p.m. is ironic, given that they were the first ones to publish the report of PTPA’s study.
On one hand, they are pushing for late-night matches to gain more viewership, while on the other hand, they are trying to maintain a moral opinion by advocating how dangerous late-night matches can be for players. However, the broadcasters and organizers must find a middle ground, as players’ health and mindset are as important as viewership.
