- The Australian Open is considering a radical change
- The men’s final could be played on Saturday
- The women’s final would be played on Sunday
Tennis Australia is considering the introduction of a historic women’s final on Sunday night, with all sorts of format adjustments on the table during its annual Australian Open report.
While the radical move is unlikely to take place in 2025, reversing the men’s and women’s finals is seen as beneficial for all fans, especially those watching on television.
Knowing they had to get up for work on Monday morning, tens of thousands tuned out and went to bed as Daniil Medvedev led Jannik Sinner two sets to none in this year’s men’s title match.
But they woke up to the news that Sinner had fought back to win and become the youngest men’s Open champion since Novak Djokovic in 2008.
Midnight finishes – and much, much later in the cases of the five-set epics of Rafael Nadal against Djokovic in 2012, Roger Federer in 2017 and Medvedev in 2022 – have become the norm.
The Australian Open is considering a radical change to its calendar
Tennis boss Craig Tiley is considering changing the dates of the men’s and women’s finals.
Eager to find a solution for bleary-eyed fans who were missing out, Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley is known to have toyed with the idea of moving the finals even before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. 19 at the end of 2019.
Playing the decisive match of the women’s championship, which can only last a maximum of three sets, on a Sunday night would offer sports lovers a definitive finish at 10:30 p.m. on the east coast of Australia.
It would also put the women even more in the spotlight in what would be the first Grand Slam to host its title match as the climax of the tournament.
A men’s final on Saturday night would also be more attractive to fans willing to stay until they die.
A brazen change agent, Tiley is exploring all options after the switch to a 15-day tournament this year attracted more than a million spectators to a Grand Slam for the first time.
Tennis Australia would not need approval from the ATP, the governing body for men’s tennis, or the WTA, which governs women’s tennis, to make the dramatic format change.
This would mean that the women’s final will be played in the Sunday night time slot.
But the players would be consulted.
The current dilemma for referees is maintaining a 48-hour recovery period between men’s best-of-five-set matches.
Traditionally, the women have endured a one-day turnaround between the quarterfinals and semifinals, but that is manageable as long as they only play best of three sets and are on the court for much less time during tournaments.
Tiley wouldn’t compromise the players’ welfare if organizers couldn’t come up with a way for the men to play every other day.
But it is understood that the Open now lasts 15 days, with a Sunday start and more room for manoeuvre, and swapping the men’s and women’s finals is again being considered.