Australian Open: Men's final on Saturday in the future?
It has been an unwritten rule at Grand Slams for many decades that the women's final takes place on Saturday and the men's final on Sunday. The Australian Open could now break that.
by Daniel Hofmann
last edit: Feb 14, 2024, 05:43 pm
The organizers of the Australian Open are considering restructuring the final weekend at the first Grand Slam of the year. The idea is to swap days for the individual finals. In the future, the women's final would be the final point of the tournament on Sunday. Instead, the men would crown a champion on Saturday.
This change would have a clear advantage, especially for tennis fans who watch the finals directly in the Rod Laver Arena. The start time of the finals at 7:30 p.m. in Melbourne (9:30 a.m. CET) creates the problem, especially on Sunday, that a long five-set match means a late end. Not easy for those fans who have to go back to work the next day. Of course, the same applies to the country's TV viewers.
Best-of-3 instead of best-of-5 on Sunday in Melbourne
For the women, the risk of a match being too long would be rather low due to the best-of-3 format. The men could go through five sets on Saturday evening local time without causing any spectators to become uneasy. The coming months will show whether this change is really an option for the near future or perhaps just a wish of the fans. In any case, this change would be a break with Grand Slam tradition.
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