The Australian Open has announced a “historic” change to the schedule in a bid to minimise late-night finishes. From 2024 onwards, the tournament will be staged over 15 days instead of 14 while day sessions on the main show court have been reduced. It comes after Andy Murray and Thanasi Kokkinakis played their second-round match until 4:05am earlier this year, with the Brit branding the scheduling a “farce”.
The Australian Open will begin a day earlier next season, with the tournament beginning on a Sunday instead of a Monday. It means that the first round will be staged across three days instead of two.
The first Major of the season will join the French Open in becoming a 15-day tournament as bosses try to tackle the issue of increasingly longer matches and later finishes. And in another shake-up to the schedule, the day sessions on both Rod Laver Arena and Margaret Court Arena will be reduced to a minimum of two matches, down from three.
Tournament director Craig Tiley confirmed that the changes were being brought in following player feedback. It comes after Murray won a five-set battle against Kokkinakis at 4:05am – the second-latest finish in Australian Open history.
