The scheduling of events at the 2024 French Open has been the talk of the town for the past couple of weeks. Tennis fans have seen quite a few late-night finishes this year. It has drawn the ire of several top players including Novak Djokovic, Coco Gauff, Carlos Alcaraz, and Ons Jabeur. Several experts claim that it’s because men’s matches usually take longer because of the best-of-five format, making it more attractive for the fans and much harder for the players. But what does Coco Gauff think about the 11:30 am start of their double match?

America’s Coco Gauff teamed up with the Czech Republic’s Katerina Siniakova to defeat Italy’s Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani by 7-6(5),6-3 in the finals of the doubles event in Paris. Shortly after clinching her first Grand Slam doubles title, the 20-year-old American tennis star appeared at the post-match press conference with her doubles partner. She was asked to share her thoughts on the starting time of the match. Reflecting on the same, Gauff said, “I think the start time is fine. I’d much rather play before the men’s final than after it.“

She said the 11:30 time is quite fine since the men’s final match could go on for several hours. “I don’t like waking up early, I think that 11:30 was a good time. I think preferably most girls would prefer to play before the men’s final because that could go 3 hours or 5. And then the crowd maybe not want to stay.” Previously Coco Gauff and a few others raised their concern about the timing of their matches at the French Open.

Novak Djokovic has suffered the most this year with late-night finishes. The Serb said he believes “things could have been handled differently” by the French Open officials after his third match that ended at around 3:07 am. Ons Jabeur has also been among the players calling out the scheduling at the tournament. She raised her voice on female players being snubbed from every single prime-time night session slot in this tournament. Even Carlos Alcaraz said he doesn’t like night sessions. Scheduling of matches has been a hot topic here in Paris this year. But what did Coco Gauff say about this earlier?

“It’s not healthy” – Coco Gauff on late-night finishes at the French Open

The world number 3 believes that late-night finishes are not at all healthy for players. Coco Gauff stressed the fact, that the players had to attend to their media responsibilities, get time to shower, eat, and do a lot of treatments before eventually getting to bed for sleep. So, their night doesn’t end after the match. Sometimes it can go until 5’o clock or 6’o clock in the morning.

Coco Gauff thinks late-night finishes can hinder a player’s recovery process after playing an intense match. “I definitely think it’s not healthy. It may be not fair for those who have to play late because it does ruin your schedule. I’ve been lucky I haven’t been put in a super-late finish yet,” Gauff said. She strongly highlighted the fact that the tournament organizers must look into this matter seriously, and do the best for all the parties concerned. Share your thoughts on the frequent late-night finishes.