It seems the more the players pray for “rain, rain go away,” the more they attract blessings from the Rain God. For Ben Shelton, this might be a repeat of what happened at the Wimbledon. His matches were marred by excessive blessings from the Gods, as they poured when he stepped on the court. But this time, he is not alone, as Aryna Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula are also set to fact the rains if things go in the opposite direction. As the tournament posted a gruesome update about the unreliable weather in Cincinnati.

Who doesn’t like the sunny morning on a match day? But this fate seemed to evade Shelton and others as the Cincinnati Open shared the weather update for players and fans. They clearly stated that the ‘schedule of play may be impacted by weather today.’ The same situation was also faced by the players at the Wimbledon, where almost every match was affected by rains. And now it’s Cincinnati’s turn!

In response to this, the Tennis Updates posted their views on X, which somewhere resonates with the voices of everyone. They posted the following caption: “Could be a tough day when it’s just past 8 am and the tournament is already sending out a post like this regarding weather. The forecast is NOT good. Especially early.” And it seems that the worst fear of players and the organizers came true, as Cincinnati made the announcement about the delay in the schedule due to the weather. The gates that were supposed to open early would now open at 10:00 am. They posted this update on their X handle:

However, what is worrisome for the fans and players is not the rain particularly, but the matches affected. As US Open is all set to begin in a few days, Cincinnati organizers would look to rush the matches, to get the schedule done in time. Hence, recovery time between the matches reduces, and the chances of injury increase. Moreover, this could also affect their result at the US Open. Hence, Rain Gods’ blessings might not be appreciated by some players! Moreover, this is similar to what happened at the Wimbledon 2024.

Wimbledon fate follows Shelton to Cincinnati as the war with Rain God resume

Wimbledon was a memorable outing for Shelton. He made it to the R4 of the tournament, emulating his father’s feat. Before bowing out of the tournament in straight sets, Sinner proceeded further. However, he was not just clashing with his opponent on the court; he was in a war with the Rain Gods too. Who was bent on pouring all the blessings in the form of rain all at once?

Shelton explained how the rain delays affected his games. He played 3 five-setter matches in the initial round, with rain delays. He said, “It’s not easy. You kind of wish you were one of the top seeds playing on Lenglen or Chatrier and you didn’t have to worry about rain delays when you’re playing, because things are moving smoothly when you have a roof. Getting the engine started over and over and getting cold and then warm again and then cold — it takes a big toll.”

God seems to be generous to the American tennis star at Cincinnati, too. As Sheldon can move the continents from Europe to North America, but the weather follows him. Would he face the same fate at the US Open?