Scheduling is again a talking point in tennis, as Elena Rybakina wants to avoid late finishes at the US Open following her Canadian Open experience.
Rybakina was affected by unfortunate scheduling at the Canadian Open in Montreal more so than any player, seeing one of her matches finish very late, with the next one being affected by weather as well. It completely destroyed her sleep and recovery, causing a relatively swift exit the following day against Liudmila Samsonova.
She spoke about her experience going off in a very unusual way for her mild-mannered standards. Others backed her comments, as scheduling has been a point of contention between players and organizers for much of this year.
Events look to maximize profits by scheduling matches later than players would want, knowing bigger crowds are more likely. It's not good for the players because it affects everything from recovery to sleep. Rybakina admitted in a feature with Red Bull recently that she does enjoy playing later in the day but not late at night.
I like to play more in the evening but of course not late at night. I had this experience two weeks ago in Montreal. It was so tough for my mind and my body.
She'd like to avoid that at the US Open, where we're going to have two-night matches per day, with the latter one coming fairly close to finishing at midnight often. She's managed to avoid it for now, so let's see what happens as she progresses further into the draw.
You are running out of time given the fact that you have to play the next day again. There is not enough time for recovery. At the US Open we will always have one day off after matches. That makes it a bit easier, but still, hopefully I can avoid it.
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