Coco Gauff says late French Open matches are ‘not healthy’

PARIS — Coco Gauff said 3 a.m. finishes for matches are not “healthy” for players, adding that tournament organizers should consider a mandatory cutoff point for when night matches start.

Novak Djokovic‘s third-round match Sunday at the French Open against Lorenzo Musetti ended at 3:07 a.m. local time after starting at 10:37 p.m. the previous night. The five-setter lasted 4 hours, 29 minutes.

These designated night matches are ticketed separately from the rest of the play on Court Philippe-Chatrier during the day. The evening match usually begins at 8:15 p.m. local time, but a scheduling change Sunday saw an extra match included on the main court at Roland Garros as organizers sought to complete third-round matches after rain delays.

The addition of Grigor Dimitrov‘s match to the Philippe-Chatrier schedule pushed Djokovic’s match later into the evening, resulting in the latest finish in French Open history.

“Yeah, I definitely think finishing at 3 a.m. is — I feel like a lot of times people think you’re done, but really, 3 a.m., then you have (media responsibilities) and then you have to shower, eat, and then a lot of times people do treatments,” Gauff said. “So that’s probably not going to bed until 5 o’clock at the earliest, maybe 6 o’clock, and even 7 o’clock.

“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.”

Late finishes are becoming increasingly common, with matches at both the Australian Open and US Open frequently going on until the early hours of the morning. Gauff said there should be a cutoff point in the evening for when matches can start.

“What can be done? I know on the tour side they’re thinking about putting matches can’t start after a certain time,” Gauff said. “I don’t know if it’s going to be a Grand Slam rule, but I know on the WTA Tour — I think that’s something to look at. Maybe if a match is going long, possibly moving courts. Then I know it’s tough because, especially here, it’s only one night match, and people obviously paid for those tickets.

“It’s a complicated thing, but I definitely think for the health and safety of the players it would be in…