Yes, starting earlier doesn’t have to mean bowing to US
The first time I covered the Australian Open, in 2001, the final began at 2pm. Andre Agassi beat Arnaud Clement in a lopsided final that lasted one hour, 46 minutes. This year marked my 18th visit and on Sunday I wondered aloud (on the internet) why, since 2005, the Australian Open men’s final has been played at night, when Wimbledon, the US Open and Roland-Garros are all afternoon starts.
Overseas broadcast rights are incredibly lucrative, of course. Tennis Australia has invested millions of dollars in the expansion and improvement of Melbourne Park and the Australian Open, paying the players far more prize money than in the past. That money has to be recouped, so having the men’s final at night, also offering fans hours to be in the grounds and spend money, makes sense.
European TV and Asian TV, the latter an especially big source of income for Tennis Australia, like the evening start, because the time zones work nicely. In the US, though, 7.30pm Melbourne time equates to 3.30am in New York.
Many people mentioned the heat. Well, the Australian Open has a heat rule so if it’s too hot, they close the roof and the players and crowd are in air-conditioning. The fans in the grounds watching on big screens need more shade, yes, but the tournament has pledged to improve that in future years.
What about the 6pm News, an institution in Australia? In this era of 24-hour news and streaming, how many people even watch just one thing these days? Younger people, whom Tennis Australia want to attract, watch TV in different ways, even watching TV and their phone at the same time. And with children back to school today, many young people could not watch, while staying up late was problematic for parents too.
As it happened, the final on Sunday finished around 11pm, which is a lot earlier than it might have been. Had Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic gone to a fifth set, it would have been well past midnight. Many, including support crew and media, have to stay on at least an extra couple of hours after finals finish.
The US Open moved the men’s final even earlier last year, from 4.15pm to 2pm. Wimbledon starts at 4pm and Roland-Garros at 3pm. The AFL grand final is still an afternoon start. No one is saying the Australian Open should set its schedule for the US, but why not start a little earlier, say, 5pm instead? Simon Cambers
No, Australia’s habitually sleepless sports fans should not have to shift
Certainly, there are reasons as to why it should. But quite simply, it doesn’t need to. Nor, more importantly, should it have to.
You’ve probably seen the social media posts that kickstarted this whole debate – a (largely benign but now deleted) musing from an American that “they should have found a way” to play the men’s final at a time more suitable for television audiences on the US east coast. The poor bloke never stood a chance. The reflexive response whenever an American is perceived to be dictating how they should organise things is one of the few remaining facets of Australian life that unites us – doubly so when this involves institutions such as the Australian Open, an event that has become just as much a cultural one as sporting.
But such a visceral reaction does provide some insight into just why organisers wouldn’t want to upset the locals, especially given they just set a new record of 1,150,044 fans passing through the gates for the main draw and 1,368,043 across the tournament. Add to this the significant investment made by Australian rights holders that want primetime events to broadcast, as well as the dangers of the intense summer heat for attendees not ensconced in the air-conditioned interior of Rod Laver Arena, and there are plenty of practical reasons for organisers to keep the status quo.
Besides, the US has a grand slam tournament called the US Open. There is also Wimbledon and the French Open, which serve Europe but also take place at times that suit the American palete. The French Open’s finals moved to 3pm last year, giving them a much more friendly 9am start time in New York, but retaining a hostile 11pm start time in Melbourne.
The Australian Open isn’t just about Australia, either. It’s the grand slam of the Asia Pacific. When you add China, Japan, Korea, and a large swathe of Indonesia, almost a quarter of the world’s population falls within the UTC +8 and UTC +10 time zones – billions of viewers (and potential consumers) in a sweet spot for the finals. Bearing in mind that primetime Melbourne already offers comfortable morning viewing in Europe, why do Australia’s habitually sleepless sports fans, who have consumed World Cup finals, Formula One, the Tour de France and more through a haze of caffeine and fatigue, largely without complaint, have to shift?
And just maybe, in a global sport – China just last August unveiled a plan to “vigorously develop tennis” after Zheng Qinwen’s Olympic gold – this perhaps should be seen as not only equitable, but as an opportunity. Joey Lynch
