Players. Coaches finish late in Paris

Unavoidable delays with six matches on one field

With an 11 a.m. start and six matches scheduled on Center Court, organizers were still looking for trouble and when Grigor Dimotrov and Daniil Medvedev played for almost three hoursand then Alexander Zverev and Ugo Humbert played for three hours and 29 minutes, the evening session was delayed even further.

And while late arrivals aren’t good for anyone, including fans, officials and the media, they are especially brutal for the winning player, who has to return the next day. Even more so when, for whatever reason, they are scheduled for daytime sessions, which leaves them very little time to recover.

Sinner’s plight was perfectly described by both his coach, Darren Cahill, and the Italian’s peers, including Casper Ruud, who took to social media to express his dismay.

Sinner completes a repeat of last year’s Moutet-Norrie situation

Wednesday’s incident was far from an exception. Not only did Monday’s session take place at 2:26 a.m., but a year ago, tournament director Cédric Pioline admitted that delays were not good for the players, especially after Corentin Moutet and Cam Norrie started after midnight and ended at 3:03 a.m.

And of course, at the start of the year, Andy Murray finished his match with Thanasi Kokkinakis at the Australian Open shortly after 4 a.m., leaving him little time to recover for the next round.

Guidelines in the ATP Tour rulebook

There are actually already guidelines regarding late tournament starts. On page 86 of the regulations it is stated:

5) It is not recommended to start matches after midnight (after 1:00 a.m. should be avoided). The ATP Supervisor may postpone a match after reviewing the impact on the tournament and players. If postponement of the match is not possible, then consideration should be given to moving the match to another venue, if available.

But more often than not, players are allowed onto the field at a late hour, knowing that if their match goes on, they will be in trouble. Sometimes, after waiting hours to start, they just want it to be over, but tournaments rarely make a decision that would benefit the players themselves.

Sinner confirms his withdrawal

Speaking after his match against Mcdonald, Sinner suggested he might not even be able to play his next match, given the quick turnaround and the obvious risk of injury, particularly at the Approaching the ATP Finals.

And the Italian confirmed the worst fears of tournament officials when he withdrew from the event, sending De Minaur all the way to the last eight in the process.