‘eat, Sleep Or Look At The Roof’: How Top Tennis Players Cope With Match Delays

The top situation for Carlos Alcaraz successful his third-round lucifer astatine nan Cincinnati Open connected Friday was simply remaining sane. Before Alcaraz and Hamad Medjedovic, his opponent, took to nan court, they had nary prime but to hold arsenic Francisco Comesaña and nan big-serving Reilly Opelka worked done a tumultuous three-hour, three-set title replete pinch manic momentum shifts, aesculapian time-outs and a last-minute rainfall hold for bully measure. Alcaraz and Medjedovic had nary thought erstwhile their lucifer would begin, yet a ample portion of their occupation is making judge they are ever ready.

A fewer hours later, aft closing retired a straightforward victory, Alcaraz chuckled bitterly from a quiet hallway wrong centre tribunal arsenic he reflected connected his hours of preparation, which turned retired to beryllium much stressful than nan lucifer itself. “Well, it sucks,” he said, smiling. “Having to lukewarm up three, 4 times, it’s horrible. A horrible thing. I thought having Opelka successful beforehand of maine was going to beryllium a small spot faster. I didn’t expect a three-hour match.”

His acquisition was reflective of 1 of nan unsocial challenges of tennis. Aside from astatine nan commencement of a time aliases session, matches usually person nary fixed commencement time. In bid to beryllium successful, players must stay focused done this uncertainty.

Karen Khachanov, nan men’s world No 12, says: “We tin spell successful each sports: NHL, American shot aliases soccer. They cognize nan full play erstwhile they commencement – which game, against who and where. In tennis, this is nan toughest part. You request to accommodate to nan circumstances.”

The unsocial quality of nan scoring strategy makes things moreover much challenging. A lucifer tin wholly flip astatine immoderate clip and a subordinate tin travel wrong a constituent of winning a lucifer yet still beryllium connected tribunal hours later. Almost each subordinate tin instantly deliberation of an juncture erstwhile nan lucifer straight earlier theirs importantly disappointment them.

For Iga Swiatek, her 2023 French Open semi-final against Beatriz Haddad Maia is seared successful her mind by nan psychodrama betwixt Karolina Muchova and Aryna Sabalenka instantly earlier them. “Aryna had 5-2 and past mislaid successful nan 3rd set, truthful I was warming up for illustration 7 times, literally,” Swiatek says.

‘Too overmuch coffee’ was portion of Emma Raducanu’s mentation for why she had to time off nan tribunal successful Wimbledon 2021 and couldn’t decorativeness her match. Photograph: Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images

“It was a rollercoaster of emotions, from being stressed, to really not giving a damn what’s going to hap successful nan lucifer before, and past warming up again, being hyped up, and past being sleepy.”

Being stuck down a melodramatic and seemingly endless five-set lucifer astatine a expansive slam tourney is moreover much aggravating. Madison Keys instantly recalls a difficult business 1 twelvemonth astatine nan US Open. “I was 3rd on, but I followed 2 men’s matches, they some went 5 sets and I went connected aft nan nighttime convention [had begun]. And it was successful that infinitesimal that I decided that we should prohibition 5 sets,” she says, laughing. Jessica Pegula, nan women’s world No 4, concurs: “If you’re successful a expansive slam and you travel a three-out-of-five-set match, and they spell five, you’re screwed.”

Every subordinate intends to commencement their lucifer pinch their power precocious and adrenaline pumping, but that is not ever imaginable aft truthful galore mendacious starts. “It’s reliable to aftermath yourself up again,” says Khachanov. “Let’s opportunity you warmed up, you are afloat of adrenaline, you are fresh to spell connected court, and past each of a sudden, there’s different set. So you are thinking: ‘OK, should I eat now? Should I conscionable sleep? Should I watch nan telephone aliases I just, I don’t know, look astatine nan roof? What do I do? Play cards pinch my team?’ Sometimes you conscionable don’t really cognize what to do.”

The first genuinely important lucifer of Emma Raducanu’s career, during her breakout debut tally astatine Wimbledon successful 2021, showed precisely what this business tin do to a player. As an 18-year-old Raducanu and Ajla Tomljanovic waited for Alexander Zverev’s five-set lucifer against Félix Auger-Aliassime to decorativeness connected No 1 Court, nan Briton became progressively anxious. Overwhelmed by her nerves, she took an off-court aesculapian time-out successful nan 2nd group of her fourth-round lucifer because of breathing difficulties and had an evident panic attack. She ne'er came back. “I had a small section connected nan court,” she says. “It was caller to maine arsenic well. I had nary thought what was going on. I deliberation I had measurement excessively overmuch java earlier that lucifer arsenic well. That was conscionable an experience. I was truthful wired from nan commencement of my day.”

Raducanu finds it acold easier to beryllium scheduled arsenic nan first lucifer of nan day, truthful she does not person to interest astir nan commencement time. Not everyone agrees, Daniil Medvedev for one. The Russian says: “I was talking to my squad today. I was like: ‘When I’m 35, I mightiness conscionable boycott nan 11am matches. I’ll beryllium like: “I’m not coming. Walkover.” Like: ‘Yeah, I didn’t aftermath up. Sorry, guys.’ In my opinion, 11 is truthful early. You person to aftermath up astatine 6.30 successful nan morning, where, if you play astatine night, you aftermath up astatine 9am. So it changes nan position of nan match. It’s crazy mentally.”

In subordinate lounges, locker rooms and warm-up areas astir nan world, each subordinate copes pinch delayed starts successful different ways. Depending connected really he is feeling, Alcaraz tin beryllium recovered playing football, cards aliases napping. Andrey Rublev is ever sleeping truthful he relies connected his coach to supply him updates connected nan lucifer before. And past location is Coco Gauff, who says pinch a laugh: “I’m usually conscionable connected TikTok.”

Others, specified arsenic Naomi Osaka and Keys, quickly find themselves immersed successful nan lucifer earlier them. The second says: “I deliberation we’re benignant of each conscionable watching nan people and conscionable being like: ‘Oh, travel on!’ Because a batch of times, particularly if you’re not connected a main court, you can’t really spot nan match, truthful you’re conscionable waiting and staring astatine nan people to flip. And you’re surviving and dying [by nan unrecorded scores]. All of a abrupt you’re cheering for 1 personification that you’ve ne'er met … and past cheering for nan different person.”

There are moreover times erstwhile players find themselves watching a lucifer pinch their adjacent opponent. One memorable illustration came astatine nan Australian Open successful 2016 erstwhile Roger Federer and Grigor Dimitrov sat side-by-side successful nan warm-up gym and watched Lauren Davis prolong their time by dragging Maria Sharapova into a last set. Amusingly, Federer spent overmuch of nan 2nd group tie-break screaming astatine nan apical of his lungs some owed to his anguish astatine his lucifer being delayed and his enjoyment of nan contest.

Grounds crews expanse rainfall disconnected nan tribunal during a upwind hold astatine nan Cincinnati Open. Photograph: Scott Stuart/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

According to Dimitrov, who laughs fondly astatine this memory, taking successful nan preceding lucifer pinch his force utilized to beryllium communal connected nan tour. “I deliberation it happened often,” he says. “Not truthful overmuch immoderate more, to beryllium honest. Early on, nan guys astir my property were doing that. We’re OK pinch it. Now it’s a small spot different.”

The uncertainty of nan schedule tin origin much superior problems, specified arsenic nan ludicrous, unhealthy precocious finishes that person go commonplace successful nan sport. Andy Murray’s 4.05am triumph complete Thanasi Kokkinakis astatine nan 2023 Australian Open, for example, was simultaneously an unthinkable sporting accomplishment and a complete farce. The men’s Association of Tennis Professionals and nan Women’s Tennis Association person since initiated a caller argumentation regarding precocious matches that, among galore things, rules nary lucifer should statesman aft 11pm unless it receives typical approval.

For nan astir part, however, this is conscionable an annoying, unsocial situation for players to overcome, different logic why this is specified a analyzable and absorbing sport. Alcaraz says, shrugging: “It is what it is. We person to get utilized to it. If I person to lukewarm up two, 3 times, I’ll do it conscionable to commencement nan lucifer successful nan champion imaginable shape.”

After truthful galore years connected nan tour, Keys has travel to a akin conclusion: “It’s really conscionable astir trying to enactment focused. It’s really hard, but you conscionable person to effort to negociate your energy, eat arsenic overmuch arsenic you can, lukewarm up 37 times and conscionable [remember] it’s happening to nan different person, too. That’s each that you tin do.”