Craig Tiley, the newly appointed chief executive of the USTA, told Sky Sports Tennis that the tournament will retain its current format of featuring two daytime matches and two evening matches at Flushing Meadows when the 2027 edition rolls around. Tiley, who stepped into the USTA’s top job earlier this year after a decade leading Tennis Australia, emphasized that no alterations to the schedule are being considered. His comments come on the heels of a marathon quarter‑final between Ben Shelton and Carlos Alcaraz that stretched into the early hours of Wednesday morning, finally concluding at 3:33 a.m.
local time. The five‑set showdown, which lasted almost five hours, left only a handful of spectators awake to witness the climax of one of tennis’s biggest stages. Historically, players have relished the unique atmosphere of night matches under the bright lights of New York’s biggest city. Yet the tournament has already set a modern record, with three matches finishing after 2 a.m.
during the first six days, and two additional contests crossing the 1 a.m. threshold. The timing issue has taken on added significance as top players push for higher prize money and better welfare standards. Late finishes have become a flashpoint in broader discussions about the rigors of life on tour.
While the US Open grapples with these concerns, other Grand Slams have taken steps to curb extreme hours. Wimbledon now enforces an 11 p.m. curfew, and the French Open limits night sessions to a single match, whereas the Australian Open continues to face criticism for its notoriously late endings.
The question of whether the US Open will see a third consecutive triumph for Aryna Sabalenka or a maiden championship for newly crowned world No. 1 Elena Rybakina looms large, as does the ongoing drama involving Alexander Zverev, Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe in the later stages of the tournament. Fans can follow the draw, schedule, and results for the final Grand Slam of 2026 from Flushing Meadows, where the event’s multiple courts—including Arthur Ashe Stadium and Louis Armstrong Stadium—host a packed itinerary of matches. One proposed remedy, such as moving the start of evening sessions to an earlier hour, runs into logistical challenges.
New Yorkers who work during the day need sufficient time to travel to the venue, and organizers must balance the flow of crowds between day and night sessions. Tiley explained his stance: “I hear a lot of people say the matches finish too late, and I ask them what they would suggest. The reality is you can’t control how long a match will run.
Over the past decade the average time from the start of a point to its conclusion has stayed roughly the same, but men’s matches have lengthened by about 25 minutes on average because of the shot clock, towel changes and other factors. Even so, today’s average match length still doesn’t rank among the longest of the past ten years.” He continued, “No one wants a 3:30 a.m.
finish, even if the rest of the world enjoys a spectacular match during their daytime. We like the two‑day, two‑night format because it gives fans a women’s match and a marquee men’s match in each session. If a match runs long, it becomes a great sporting ticket, and that’s why we’ll keep it.” The tournament’s social media accounts responded to the Shelton‑Alcaraz marathon with a tongue‑in‑cheek fill‑in‑the‑blank prompt, inviting fans to ask their employers for a late‑night excuse: “We understand showing up is important, but sometimes you have to make time for what you love. Carlos Alcaraz and Ben Shelton delivered an outstanding quarter‑final, and ______ was a fully committed fan who stayed locked in from start to finish.” Another recurring suggestion is to shorten men’s early‑round matches to best‑of‑three sets.
This idea is contentious, as many purists view five‑set battles as the hallmark of Grand Slam competition. Frances Tiafoe weighed in, saying, “I think we should keep men’s matches at best‑of‑five. There are countless epic five‑setters that define the sport.
I don’t love five‑setters all the time—I’d gladly shake hands after a two‑set win—but that’s tennis.” The US Open will be broadcast live on Sky Sports beginning August 30, with streaming options available on NOW and the Sky Sports app, and the Laver Cup will also be shown from London’s O2 arena later in September. Despite the late‑night controversies, Tiley remains confident that the existing day‑and‑night schedule delivers the most engaging experience for fans, players, and the broader tennis community.