When Ben Shelton delivered a 146-mph javelin that eventually defeated Carlos Alcaraz to reach the semifinals of the US Open, it was arguably the most significant moment in men’s tennis for many years.
It was also 3:33 am ET.
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Nobody likes that.
Although Shelton’s stunning win for seven days makes the major champion US TV audience will be very interested for Sunday’s final when either Shelton or fellow American Francis Tiafoe will be there, the classic quarter-finals that unfolded from late Tuesday night into Wednesday morning was a huge tennis opportunity.
If the USTA’s mission is to really increase interest and participation in tennis throughout the country, you can’t just accept that it’s “part of the sport” for the wedding of the biggest American tournament, two of the most charismatic and popular players, to start just after 11 pm on a weekday night.
Alcaraz and Shelton put on a show — a stunning display of athleticism, skill and stage presence. It was the kind of match that makes a laugh look fun and cool, that might inspire kids to ask their parents about starting tennis lessons or maybe help a young elite athlete decide they want to be the next Shelton rather than the next Lamar Jackson.
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This must be a first-time match in every living room in America that has sports on TV. It cannot be done when most of the country is asleep.
In fact, it ended up being so late that they didn’t even bother bringing Shelton into the press conference, relegating him to discuss the biggest issues of his life with reporters asking just two questions outside the room.
“That war, an epic match, so physical,” Shelton said. “Carlos is one of the biggest champions in our game already at 23 years old. It’s always fun on the court against him. It’s funny some stuff when he goes up sometimes. But, I remember, I had the most enjoyable match in my life, for sure.”
It’s hard to put your finger on it, but there’s something culturally significant about tennis these days. Lots of new people started playing during the COVID-19 pandemic, influences are popping up in big events, there’s a huge market for tennis documentaries these days on Netflix and Amazon Prime and it’s really hard (and expensive) to get a ticket to any of the Grand Slams. More and more star athletes are showing up in big games and talking about tennis on social media because they know how electric the game is when you have stars like Alcaraz and Shelton playing on the big stage.
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It is time to capitalize.
For, tennis is a lot of shoulder relief.
Each of the four Grand Slams has its own unique scheduling problems, but across the board, it’s undeniably worse.
The US Open has always had some late parties, and in some ways it has become a lore tournament. It’s usually a badge of honor to say “There” for the five-seventh that ends well after midnight.
But it is not supposed to be nocturnal. This year in the tournament, more often than not it happened. The occurrence of a game ending after 1 am should be an outlier, not the norm. And at some point, one of the great parties in tennis must admit that it’s bad for the fans, it’s bad for the tournament’s TV partners, it’s bad for the tournament employees, and most of all, it’s bad for the players, because it’s not a match when it ends. You spend hours recuperating, refueling and cooling off before even thinking about getting into bed.
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This is not what spectator sports are supposed to be.
There are no easy solutions. But the biggest obstacle to finding one is that tennis is a game without a clock.
The Arcturus Ashe Stadium schedule was normal on Tuesday, starting at 11:30 a.m. with women’s No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka. But she took 2 hours, 22 minutes to beat Linda Noskova, who followed Tiafoe’s epic 4-hour 39-minute break from Alex Michelsen in the fifth-builder.
As a result, the matchday session for them was moved to 7pm, which is when the night session was supposed to start. But because the ticket is different, they had to clear the stadium after Tiafoe’s tie before the Jessica Pegula-Emma Navarro match started at 8:20 pm And because that match took three kills and took 2 hours, 21 minutes all went to hay.
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Even if the USTA decided this was not acceptable, what could it do about it? It’s easy to say she’s only one of her peers moving to another court, but the second-largest court at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center holds roughly 10,000 fewer people than Ashe and doesn’t have the luxury. Cut off the feet of literally thousands of ticket buyers, and even though the USTA has become a hugely greedy organization, it’s hard to say just how many millions of dollars it’s taking in.
Maybe they could rethink the schedule and follow the example of the French Open, where there is only one night match starting at 8 pm
But in France they have decided that it is almost always equal to men because the best five-theoretic ticket gives buyers more tennis to watch than the best three women’s match. As a result, the center of the French Open becomes the center of an annual circus where they are accused of sexism. And, of course, a standalone match always carries the risk of a blow or someone getting injured, and it’s not a satisfying experience for everyone.
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Some other tournament should probably consider whether they can do anything in the future to speed up the court. Tournaments can manipulate the surface of the court when it is built for balls to run lower and shoot across the court, rewarding bigger shots and faster serves. Players these days are bigger and stronger and cover a larger court than before, while the surfaces are getting slower and the balls lead higher. It is natural that I do it through long accumulations and longer matches.
Ultimately, though, tennis should be thought of as a best-of-five format. Yes, it is one of the game’s sacred bulls and the real separator of the good vs. the great. But it also causes a ton of scheduling issues at the Slams. Maybe there’s a middle ground where, if a pair goes in each pair, you’re tied for fifth at 10-points.
Any such decision, though, must be carefully considered because there is so much history wrapped up in the top five.
Ben Shelton celebrates a match point against Carlos Alcaraz, while their men win the quarterfinals.
(Patrick Smith via Getty Images)
“I think three out of five people are sticking around,” Tiafoe said. “I don’t know where the conversation is going, what people are going to lean on. Everyone’s going to have an opinion. We’ve seen so many epics in five-a-side. Do I love five times? Not at all. There’s a lot of time where I’m loved, I’d love to shake hands and go home. But tennis, man.
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“I grew up watching so many incredible five-star matches. Novak-Rafa, Federer-Rafa, epic five-pointers that go on for hours and hours. This game is history. (If) you do that, I feel like I love your Slam not so much personally if it happens in two out of three formats.”
Many agree with Tiafoe. But it’s also a valid question whether, in 2026, every sporting event should last five hours.
It’s a great investment. We could all agree, though, that the otherwise magnificent US Open doesn’t have a big advantage, from all the great tennis, because too many people are asleep when it happens. The end of the sports event is continuously not answered after 2 am.