French Open night sessions come under sustained fire

PARIS: The French Open night session has come under fire again this year as almost exclusively men's matches have been scheduled to take place under the lights and some players have complained about the late hours.

Since 2021, one match has been played on the main Court Philippe Chatrier in the evenings and broadcast exclusively by Amazon's Prime Video in France.

Three out of the four Grand Slams - the Australian Open, the French Open and the US Open - currently schedule night sessions with raucous fans ensuring a carnival atmosphere, especially if a local player is in action.

Wimbledon's Centre Court had a retractable roof installed in 2009, allowing play to continue at the grasscourt major during rain and into the night up until a locally-imposed curfew of 11pm BST.

In the first two years in Paris, only one women's match got the honours of a night session. This year, one of the eight matches so far scheduled to start at 2030 local time has been a women's game.

The start was brought forward to avoid play finishing too late but, on Saturday (Jun 3), Alexander Zverev played his last point against Frances Tiafoe after midnight.

"When we play five sets, it can go until two in the morning. That's not so healthy for the player who wins the match and then has to play again the next day, like now," said the German, who will take part in his third night session on Monday when he plays Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round.

"You need to get a massage, an ice bath, talk to the press, go back to the hotel and you don't fall asleep before 4am or 5am It's not good for your body."

Zverev is advocating for more women's matches to be scheduled for the late slot as, with their matches being played over the best of three sets instead of best of