深夜の試合問題、全米ＯＰはナイトゲーム２試合の方針継続

【マイアミＡＦＰ＝時事】全米オープンテニスの主催者は１７日、メイン会場のアーサー・アッシュ・スタジアムで行われるナイトセッションについて、選手から終了時間が未明になることへの懸念が示されているものの、これまで通り２試合を実施していく方針を明らかにした。（写真は昨年の全米オープンテニス、男子シングルス４回戦で深夜まで続いた激闘に勝利しコートに横たわるカルロス・アルカラス）
　米ニューヨークのフラッシング・メドウズで開催される全米オープンでは、試合が未明に終わることがある。昨年もカルロス・アルカラス（スペイン）対ヤニック・シナー（イタリア）の一戦が５時間１５分に及び、試合が終了したのは翌日の午前２時５０分だった。
　全米オープンのナイトセッションをめぐっては以前、元女王のヴィーナス・ウィリアムス（米国）が「過酷」であることを理由に、２試合目をスケジュールから除外するよう求めていた。
　前週には、ナショナルバンク・オープンで試合が遅くにずれ込む混乱が発生し、女子シングルスに出場していたエレナ・ルバキナ（カザフスタン）がナイトスケジュールに関して抗議を行った。現世界１位のイガ・シフィオンテク（ポーランド）もこれに同調し、深夜の試合問題が再燃した。
　しかし、全米オープンを主催する全米テニス協会のステイシー・アラスター会長はこの日、「言うまでもなく、深夜の試合については２０２２年の全米オープンの後、激しい議論と再考を重ねた」とし、試合開始時間を早めることや２試合目を取りやめることを検討した上で、何も変更しないことに決めたと報道陣に説明した。
　「テニスの現実として、われわれが抱えている問題の一つは、試合の開始や終了の時間は決められないということ。試合は予測不可能であり、短時間で終わるときもあれば５時間の長丁場になるときもある。従って、われわれはこのままナイトゲーム２試合を維持していく。この問題はこれからも検討していく」
　「抜本的な改革を行って目玉となるものをファンに提供できるようになるまで、われわれはこのまま深夜の試合を続けていく」【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2023/08/18-16:20）

The US Open will stick with its policy of placing two night matches on the main Arthur Ashe court despite concerns from players about finishes in the early hours.
Matches at Flushing Meadows often finish in the early hours and last year's tournament saw a match between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner finish at 2:50 am after a five-hour 15-minute contest.
Venus Williams has said she would like to see the second night match removed from the schedule calling it brutal.
The issue of late finishes returned to the forefront last week after world number one Iga Swiatek joined Elena Rybakina in blasting the scheduling which wrecked the late rounds of the WTA Montreal Open.
But Stacey Allaster, US Open Tournament Director, told reporters on Thursday that while discussions had taken place about the night schedule, following last year's tournament, no changes were planned.
Without question, late night matches were heavily discussed and reviewed after the 2022 US Open. said Allaster who said they had looked at starting earlier and removing the second match before deciding against the change.
I think one of the challenges that we just have as a reality of tennis, we are not defined by a start and an end time. So that unpredictability of a match, sometimes we can have a short match, or we can have that long five-hour match. So at the moment, we're staying the course with two night matches. We'll continue to evaluate it, she said.
I think until we were to dramatically change a feature that we offer our fans, we'll experience this late night moment here, she said.
- 'Memorable moments' -
Allaster said that players and fans enjoyed the special atmosphere of playing under the lights on the 23,700 capacity stadium, the largest in the sport.
One thing we do know is that in New York City, when we talk to the athletes, there's nothing like a night match in Arthur Ashe.
They are some of the most historic and memorable moments for athletes, she said.
Lew Sherr, CEO and Executive Director of the US Tennis Association, said that the back-to-back night games were a significant element of the appeal of the event.
It's part of the excitement. In some respects, it's something that our fans love, the city that never sleeps. But having said that, we have an obligation to make sure that the athletes, their health is put forward. But we also know that New York fans are energized by night matches, he said.
The issue is by no means limited to the US Open -- last week Rybakina?s quarter-final in Montreal against Daria Kasatkina did not end until around 3am.
Having won that encounter, the Kazakh had nothing left for her Sunday semi which she lost in three sets to Liudmila Samsonova.
Maybe we should focus more on what is healthy for players because we have to compete every week, Swiatek said on Monday.
The Tour is so intense with travel .. that it would be nice in the future to focus on players - especially next year when there will be more and more mandatory tournaments and longer tournaments.
During the clay season, in Rome and Madrid, I played four matches that finished close to or after midnight, Swiatek said.
I understand we have to adjust to broadcasters and everything, but I also asked the WTA for some data to see if people are watching matches that start past 10 p.m., she said.