Jon Wertheim pulled no punches when dismantling the US Open’s approach to match scheduling after complaints and criticism has rained down from players and pundits alike.
Controversy and drama has been few and far between in the opening week of the US Open, however has ramped up in recent days.
After outcry at the scheduling of Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe’s match, Aryna Sabalenka was forced on court after midnight.
The move saw US Open organisers ignore their new policy on late-night matches as Sabalenka and Ekaterina Alexandrova broke the record for the latest ever start time on Friday.
Despite the Belarusian seemingly shrugging off the late start with a resounding comeback win, it went against tournament director Stacey Allaster’s original comments that matches that hadn’t started before 11:15pm would be moved.
Jon Wertheim unpacks ‘ridiculous’ US Open scheduling saga
Late starts an age-old problem in tennis, with this year’s French Open seeing Novak Djokovic’s win over Lorenzo Musetti conclude at 3:07 in the morning.
“It’s a real issue. I think it makes tennis look goofy,” Jon Wertheim explained on Andy Roddick’s ‘Served’ podcast. “I think it has an impact on competition. It can’t be fun to restart your rhythms and get back to the hotel when the sun comes up.
“But here’s my thing,” he continued. “The players don’t want to start before 11 o’clock, understandable right, you need to hydrate and wake up. Men want to play best of five sets. So that’s off the table.
“Television wants not just two matches per session but they want the court-side interviews and the hallway, that figures time in there.”
“You can’t have a night session the way the French do, you can’t in New York start any time before 7:00. It’s like something has got to give. Can you move players to a different court when they have practiced on the Centre Court? It’s one of those things where we all think it’s ridiculous and stupid but I think coming up with solutions is really tough.”
Not mincing his words, Wertheim is both airing his own grievances about the organisers’ blatant disregard for their own policies, as well as highlighting player welfare.
Controversy and drama seems commonplace in the American hard court season
A summer of player discontent has been highlighted and reinforced consistently by the likes of Denis Shapovalov’s consistent shots at the ATP, as well as the controversy raining down after Jannik Sinner’s drugs ban escape.
An awful umpire call in a match between Anna Kalinskaya and Beatriz Haddad Maia saw German official seemingly ignore the findings of the slow motion replay, leaving the Russian player and many fans in disbelief.
Prior to the tournament too Taylor Fritz was implicated in drama, with failed electronic line-calling again causing a baffling umpire decision.
Despite Allaster defending electronic line-calling, her neglect for her own rules is just the latest blip in this entertaining US Open event.
While New York has housed a truly magnificent 10 days of tennis so far with countless upsets, this recent chaos is distracting from what has been a wonderful showcase of tennis.
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