Tournaments Are Geared Towards Profits And Revenue Says Djokovic Amid Late-Night Finishes

| by Nurein Ahmed

Novak Djokovic has had his say on the ignominious topic of late-night finishes to tennis matches and admits it's hard for the players.

Djokovic gave his thoughts in the aftermath of his progress into the third round of the Cincinnati Masters following Alejandro Davidovich Fokina's retirement at the start of the second set of their match. The Serbian World No. 2 picked up his first win in two years on his return to US soil.

Last week's scheduling concerns caused a huge storm all over the tennis world, with fans calling out tennis' governing bodies and tournament organizers for not taking players' grievances at heart. Djokovic was sympathetic during his presser, but he understands why it is happening.

The 36-year-old explained that tournaments are looking to leverage profits by having two separate sessions, especially on the main courts and particularly at Grand Slam level. This move is geared towards maximizing profits by selling two separate tickets, according to Djokovic.

Novak Djokovic Wins His First Match On US Soil After Two Year Hiatus By Retirement
Novak Djokovic Wins His First Match On US Soil After Two Year Hiatus By Retirement

"I guess the tournaments are normally, you know, looking to get more profit by selling the day-session and night-session tickets. I think earlier in my career it wasn't the case. It was more of a one whole session. Nowadays you have, normally when the day session ends, they empty the stadium, particularly the big stadiums, bringing on the people for the night session. That takes time."

Whether the move is ideal for all stakeholders is questionable he says. But at the same time, Djokovic admits that the profit motive pushes tournaments to schedule the best matches during the night sessions in order to satisfy the fans, which sadly, is at the expense of players' time who spend all day not knowing when they'll play.

"Whether that's good for players, maybe not ideal, but at the same time, you have to find balance between satisfying the fans. You know, tournaments are looking to obviously gain more profit and more revenue out of it."

"Then the night sessions are normally the ones that are more entertaining. You know, people get into it. Grand Slams normally have, like, US Open night sessions are probably the most famous night sessions in our sport. There is also something about it that gets you going."

Alcaraz Won't Stop Djokovic From Winning More Slams, Says Mouratoglou
Alcaraz Won't Stop Djokovic From Winning More Slams, Says Mouratoglou

Read the full article

Just in

Look at more articles