It’s official now, Australian Open 2024 will be organized as a 15-day tournament, as opposed to the usual 14 days. Taking a cue from Roland Garros, the first slam of the year will also start on Sunday in 2024. This is to ease off the pressure created because of late-night endings for the players as well as for the fans. Thus, the 1st round will be a 3-day affair, as opposed to the usual 2 days.
This information was conveyed by Craig Tiley, Tournament Director who had said, “We’ve listened to feedback from the players & fans & are excited to deliver a solution to minimize late finishes while continuing to provide a fair & equitable schedule on the stadium courts… The additional day will achieve this, benefiting scheduling for fans & players alike.”
Australian Open 2024 will be held as a 15-day event. Like Roland Garros, it will start on a Sunday to help alleviate the pressure of late night endings to matches for players & fans.
The 1st round will take 3 days to complete as opposed to 2.
Craig Tiley, Tournament Director:… pic.twitter.com/Bec9jMO28C
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) October 2, 2023
He continued, “The first round will now be played over three days instead of two, also giving fans an extra day of unbelievable tennis, entertainment, food & family fun.” Confirming that a minimum of two matches will be played in the day session at Rod Laver Arena and Margaret Court Arena, from the usual three, Tiley said that they are trying to avert the potential of late-night finishes.
These changes, which are starting to surface at Grand Slams come in the wake of serious outrage from players who have expressed their displeasure at the way the sport is being run. There have been a number of issues that have come to the forefront recently due to their appraisal from players and it is only fitting that they are addressed on the big stage.
Backlashes from players that led to this change at the Australian Open
One of the players, who has been particularly skeptical of the way the tournaments are being organized is none other than Elena Rybakina. She has been on the receiving end of some bad scheduling during the past two months. She was made to give a walk-over at the Cincinnati Open, owing to the extreme heat conditions which prevailed there.
As if this wasn’t enough, she was virtually made to play two matches on the same day, at the Canadian Open. This practically gave no time for her to recover, and she got herself injured in the process. Rybakina quite rightly hit back at WTA, calling it unprofessional. She quoted, “It’s the 1st time & hopefully the last.…”. Commenting that the leadership of WTA is a bit weak for now, she hoped that things would change.
Her stance found support from top players like Iga Swiatek and Novak Djokovic. It is in this setting that the recent changes have been rung in at the Australian Open. According to Tiley, “….While I appreciate the effort to adapt, the 1st round doesn’t usually have that many late-night finishes anyways. I’m not sure this will make a huge difference as the tournament goes on. But it’s still nice to see some change.”
Even though this doesn’t look like making too much of a difference, it is a step taken as a precautionary measure and response to prevent injuries and burnouts in the worst-case scenario. It gives the players adequate time to recover and prepare for their next match. So, it is definitely a step in the right direction and hopefully, it will be a sign of many such things to come.
