{"id":2125692,"date":"2026-09-03T05:00:35","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T02:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2125692"},"modified":"2026-09-03T05:00:35","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T02:00:35","slug":"us-open-must-fix-one-of-tennis-crazy-rules-says-martina-navratilova-after-late-night-drama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2125692","title":{"rendered":"US Open must &#8216;fix&#8217; one of tennis&#8217; &#8216;crazy&#8217; rules, says Martina Navratilova after late-night drama"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"ps-article-content rounded-lg lg:mt-5 lg:border lg:border-card lg:bg-card lg:shadow-primary\">\n<header>\n<h1 class=\"py-4 text-xl font-normal text-title sm:text-2xl\">US Open must \u2018fix\u2019 one of tennis\u2019 \u2018crazy\u2019 rules, says Martina Navratilova after late-night drama<\/h1>\n<div class=\"my-2 flex items-center justify-between\">\n<div class=\"flex items-center\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/author\/shahidaj\" class=\"text-sm font-normal !text-author\"><br \/>\n                            Shahida Jacobs                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <time class=\"ml-3 text-sm font-normal text-info md:ml-4\" datetime=\"03 Sep 2026 6:00 AM\" data-ps-date=\"03 Sep 2026 6:00 AM\" data-ps-datetime=\"1788411635\"><br \/>\n                            03 Sep 2026 6:00 AM                        <\/time>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"hidden justify-end space-x-4 text-xl sm:flex sm:!opacity-100\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 hidden dark:block h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_dark.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on 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<\/a>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"sm:hidden flex items-center space-x-5\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 hidden dark:block h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_dark.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on Google\" width=\"76\" height=\"24\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 dark:hidden h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_light.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on Google\" width=\"76\" height=\"24\"><br \/>\n                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <button id=\"t365-article-share-btn-hidden\" class=\"mr-2 hidden h-6 w-6 appearance-none border-none !text-share-icon outline-none hover:!text-share-icon-active sm:hidden\" data-title=\"US Open must \u2018fix\u2019 one of tennis\u2019 \u2018crazy\u2019 rules, says Martina Navratilova after late-night drama\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/button>\n                    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"-mx-3 sm:-mx-5 border-b border-page\"><\/div>\n<section>\n<div class=\"-mx-3 sm:-mx-5\">\n<figure class=\"aspect-h-9 aspect-w-16 relative\">\n                                        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1320\" height=\"742\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"w-full h-full object-cover object-center !my-0\" src=\"https:\/\/d2me2qg8dfiw8u.cloudfront.net\/content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Night-match-at-US-Open-with-inset-of-Martina-Navratilova-1320x742.jpg\" alt=\"Pictured: Night match at US Open with inset of Martina Navratilova\">                <\/figure><figcaption class=\"flex items-center space-x-3 border-b border-mobile-caption px-3 lg:border-caption\">\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-1.5 break-words !text-xs !text-content\">\n                                Night match at US Open with inset of Martina Navratilova                            <\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<div class=\"ciam-article-t365\"><!-- Article Start --><\/p>\n<p>Venus Williams and Sofia Kenin made history during their first-round match at the US Open, but tennis great Martina Navratilova was far from impressed by organisers of the season-ending Grand Slam in New York.<\/p>\n<p>Monday\u2019s encounter between the Americans on Arthur Ashe Stadium started at 12:13am local time as it set a record for the latest start in US Open history with the clash finishing just before 2am.<\/p>\n<p>Williams and Kenin were initially due to play on Sunday evening at the main showcourt at Flushing Meadows, but the match was pushed back as the Novak Djokovic-Mariano Navone encounter took nearly five hours to complete, causing lots of confusion.<\/p>\n<p>With the clock ticking to midnight, organisers decided to move the clash to Louis Armstrong Stadium and the two players made their way there only to be told at the last minute that the Djokovic-Navone match had been completed, resulting in a scramble back to Arthur Ashe.<\/p>\n<p>Kenin claimed a 6-2, 7-6 (9-7) win and told those in the stands: \u201cThank you guys so much for staying, I know it\u2019s 2am. Here playing in New York, I love it here. Second night session on [Arthur] Ashe, you can\u2019t ask for anything better. I\u2019m grateful to be on this court, I absolutely love it here.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>US Open News<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/alex-eala-sees-major-ticket-price-surge-for-her-first-match-at-the-us-open\"><strong>The US Open deserve criticism for what they did during Alex Eala\u2019s first match in New York<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/martina-navratilova-says-what-carlos-alcaraz-told-her-backstage-at-the-us-open\"><strong>Martina Navratilova explains what Carlos Alcaraz was like backstage after his first US Open victory<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>During the post-match press conference, former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/venus-williams-admits-not-ideal-us-open-scheduling-grand-slam-debate\">world No 1 Williams<\/a> admitted she was not happy with the late start.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve never played a match that late before. It\u2019s not ideal. I would have preferred something else. I think it wasn\u2019t great for either of us,\u201d the seven-time Grand Slam winner said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI definitely think there\u2019s room for improvement there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And Navratilova agrees that things need to change as she offered advice on how they can improve on the current scheduling nightmare.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was the latest start for a women\u2019s match ever. After midnight, and it could have been later. Tennis is the only sport that does this. I think it\u2019s crazy,\u201d she told Sky Sports.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think they need to fix the night session. It\u2019s too late. I think they should play men\u2019s singles and then maybe a doubles match. If you do women\u2019s singles you can still have another doubles match, or another women\u2019s singles. You\u2019ll see get four sets of play minimum.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven if you put the women\u2019s match on first and it\u2019s three sets, the guys start by 10pm. If a men\u2019s match goes five sets, you start at midnight.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re never on the court at midnight and you never start a match at midnight, so it\u2019s counterproductive for everybody, spectators and the players.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- Article End --><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>US Open must \u2018fix\u2019 one of tennis\u2019 \u2018crazy\u2019 rules, says Martina Navratilova after late-night drama Shahida Jacobs 03 Sep 2026 6:00 AM Night match at US Open with inset of Martina Navratilova Venus Williams and Sofia Kenin made history during their first-round match at the US Open, but tennis great Martina Navratilova was far from [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,249],"class_list":["post-2125692","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-tennis365-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2125692","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2125692"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2125692\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2125692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2125692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2125692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}