Why Are They Playing Tennis Matches Until Nearly 4 am at the Australian Open? 

Daniil Medvedev of Russia leaves the court at 3:46am clock after winning his 2nd round match against Emil Ruusuvuori of Finland at the 2024 Australian Open in Melbourne, Australia, early 19 January 2024. (EPA)
Daniil Medvedev of Russia leaves the court at 3:46am clock after winning his 2nd round match against Emil Ruusuvuori of Finland at the 2024 Australian Open in Melbourne, Australia, early 19 January 2024. (EPA)
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Why Are They Playing Tennis Matches Until Nearly 4 am at the Australian Open? 

Daniil Medvedev of Russia leaves the court at 3:46am clock after winning his 2nd round match against Emil Ruusuvuori of Finland at the 2024 Australian Open in Melbourne, Australia, early 19 January 2024. (EPA)
Daniil Medvedev of Russia leaves the court at 3:46am clock after winning his 2nd round match against Emil Ruusuvuori of Finland at the 2024 Australian Open in Melbourne, Australia, early 19 January 2024. (EPA)

A smile creased Daniil Medvedev's face as he walked to the net in Rod Laver Arena at 3:39 a.m., finally a winner in the Australian Open's second round after five sets spread across nearly 4 1/2 hours in the third-latest finish in Grand Slam history.

Zero chance Medvedev would have been there at that time if he didn't need to be. If he were one of the spectators in the nearly empty stands, and a match stretched past, say, 1 a.m., the 2021 US Open champion said, “I would be like, ‘OK, let’s go home. We’re going to catch the end of the match on the TV. Going to watch 30 minutes, then go to bed.’”

So why were Medvedev, a two-time runner-up at Melbourne Park, and the man he beat 3-6, 6-7 (1), 6-4, 7-6 (1), 6-0 in a match that began there Thursday and concluded Friday, Emil Ruusuvuori ... and the chair umpire ... and the ball people ... and the (few) spectators who remained still awake so late?

That's not the sort of thing that happens in other sports.

“No one should be playing tennis at 330am. This is looney tunes,” was a sentiment expressed by John Isner on social media and surely shared by others. Isner, of course, knows a thing or two about playing forever: He won the longest match in tennis history, an 11-hour, 5-minute marathon spread over three days at Wimbledon in 2010.

WHY DO SOME TENNIS MATCHES FINISH SO LATE? First of all, there's no such thing as a “game clock” in tennis, in general, and no such thing as “too late” at the Australian Open and US Open, in particular. They play night sessions at those two Grand Slam tournaments, and have for decades, and if the start of one match happens to be delayed until 10 p.m. or even later — Medvedev and Ruusuvuori began warming up after 11 p.m. — they keep playing until someone wins.

In this case, they were pushed back because the match that preceded theirs — Anna Blinkova's upset of 2022 Wimbledon champion and 2023 Australian Open finalist Elena Rybakina — lasted more than 2 1/2 hours and included a record-setting 22-20 tiebreaker.

It was also a day of ripple effects, because only eight of the 32 singles matches, including one of 16 in the men's bracket, were done in straight sets (which is two sets for women, who play a maximum of three, and three sets for men, who play a maximum of five).

WHAT ABOUT WIMBLEDON AND THE FRENCH OPEN? At Wimbledon, the All England Club has an agreement with local residents to halt play at 11 p.m.

Night sessions at the French Open only began in 2021, and while there was a memorable quarterfinal the following year between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic that ended after 1 a.m. — “TV decides. That’s the world we are living in,” Djokovic keenly observed about the late start of that one — it's yet to have the sort of bleary-eyed finishes that Melbourne and New York produce semi-regularly.

The four latest Grand Slam finishes happened in Australia — 4:34 a.m. is the record, for a 2008 match between Lleyton Hewitt and Marcos Baghdatis — and No. 5 came at the US Open, a 2022 victory for Carlos Alcaraz over Jannik Sinner that wrapped up at 2:50 a.m.

ARE PLAYERS OK WITH THIS? Not really.

“If we’re going to be honest with ourselves, what are people looking for? They’re not looking for five-hour matches. ... I haven’t been able to sit through one,” two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka said. “It’s just too long.”

Andy Murray, owner of three Grand Slam titles, won a match that stretched beyond 4 a.m. at Melbourne a year ago and is certain that makes zero sense.

“It’s a very obvious thing that needs to change. I haven’t heard anyone really disagree with that,” Murray said.

“Just probably looks a wee bit more professional,” he added, “if you’re not finishing at 3, 4 in the morning.”

Not to mention what it does for the well-being of the athletes and the quality of the competition — during that match and subsequent ones. Both Medvedev and Ruusuvuori were treated by trainers. Medvedev got some help from the chair umpire while tying his shoe at one point. The fifth set was lopsided and not all that entertaining.

“Yes, at night is probably our prime time and we can optimize viewers,” reigning US Open champion Coco Gauff said, “but also, we have to protect the players’ health."

WHAT IS TENNIS DOING TO CHANGE IT? The women's and men's professional tours announced just before the start of the Australian Open that they're instituting new rules this month to try to cut back on play after midnight. One problem: Those rules apply only to events run by the WTA and ATP — not Grand Slam tournaments.

Tennis Australia added a 15th day to its marquee event by starting on a Sunday this year, instead of a Monday, which many saw as a grab for more money — but the federation said was intended to add some breathing room to the two-week tournament and reduce the likelihood of late matches. Didn't quite work out that way.

WHEN DOES MEDVEDEV PLAY NEXT? Medvedev posted a photo of his watch at nearly 4:30 a.m. with the caption, “It's late!” and a laughing-crying emoji. He figured he wouldn't be getting to sleep until about 6 or 6:30 a.m. on Friday, which wasn’t ideal given he will be scheduled to play again Saturday, against Felix Auger-Aliassime.

“I will try to give my everything,” Medvedev said. “If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work.”



Swiatek Fights Back to Down McNally and Reach Third Round

Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 3, 2025 Poland's Iga Swiatek celebrates after winning her second round match against Caty McNally of the US. (Reuters)
Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 3, 2025 Poland's Iga Swiatek celebrates after winning her second round match against Caty McNally of the US. (Reuters)
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Swiatek Fights Back to Down McNally and Reach Third Round

Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 3, 2025 Poland's Iga Swiatek celebrates after winning her second round match against Caty McNally of the US. (Reuters)
Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 3, 2025 Poland's Iga Swiatek celebrates after winning her second round match against Caty McNally of the US. (Reuters)

Iga Swiatek may not love the grass but relishes a battle whatever the surface and showed all that fight and bullish determination as she recovered to beat American Caty McNally 5-7 6-2 6-1 and reach the Wimbledon third round on Thursday.

McNally, the world number 208, looked poised to cause an upset when she clawed her way back from 4-1 down to take the first set against the five-times Grand Slam champion.

At that point Swiatek's mediocre record at the All England Club, where the Pole has never gone past the quarter-finals, seemed to be weighing heavily on her shoulders.

But rather than shy away from the scrap, the former world number one flicked a psychological switch that saw her come out for the second set transformed, upping her aggression and playing with a ferocity McNally simply could not handle.

She broke early in the second set and never looked back, losing only three more games to set up a clash with another American Danielle Collins.

"I started the match well, so I knew that my game was there," said Swiatek. "I knew that at the start of the second set I had to be more accurate. I just tried to improve and I'm happy it worked."

The eighth seed may have her sights set far higher than the third round, but by reaching the last 32 she underlined her consistency on the big stage.

The 23-year-old is the third player this century to reach the third round in 22 consecutive women’s singles Grand Slams after Amelie Mauresmo and Serena Williams.

DIFFICULT SURFACE

Whether such milestones are enough to persuade Swiatek she can excel on a surface that has so far proven difficult to master is yet to be determined.

With four French Open titles to her name, another at the US Open and two semi-final appearances in Australia, her unspectacular Wimbledon record stands out like a sore thumb.

A run to the Bad Homburg final in the grasscourt warm-up event showed her game is not entirely unsuited to the surface, though there was a period in the first set against McNally where she may have wondered if this tournament was simply not for her.

Having broken early and raced into a 4-1 lead, the wheels briefly came off as McNally did everything to push Swiatek out of her comfort zone.

The American pushed right up to the baseline to receive serve, trying to give Swiatek less time to react to the return and for a while it worked.

McNally spurned four break points in the seventh game before finally taking her chance at the fifth attempt before breaking again for a 6-5 lead when Swiatek swiped a backhand long.

When the Pole fired a wild forehand off target to hand McNally the opener, everything seemed to be going the American's way. But that was as good as it got.

DOUBLES PARTNERS

Swiatek knows McNally's game well - the pair were doubles partners in their youth, clinching the junior title at Roland Garros in 2018 - and set about dismantling it in double-quick time.

She broke for a 2-0 lead in the second set and again to level the contest at one set each.

Swiatek then did the same at the start of the third set, breaking to go 2-0 ahead, with a forehand swiped cross-court, while another forehand winner saw her break again to move 4-0 up.

It was then straightforward for the Pole, although she did have to save five break points before wrapping up victory with an ace.

As well as earning her spot in the next round, the match against her old playing partner offered a pleasing trip down memory lane.

"It's pretty funny because I remember these matches pretty well," she said of her junior days.

"We know each other pretty well ... She's one of the people who make you feel like you are not only rivals on tour but that you can also respect each other and like each other."