The match between Andy Murray and Thanasi Kokkinakis ended at 4 am on Friday at the Australian Open. This was not a specially organized marathon match or tournament, nor was it the first time it happened. Carlos Alcarez and Janick Sinner were also playing matches till 3 am at the US Open last September. Tennis is the only tournament in which athletes stay up all night to play a match and are back on the court with full focus in less than 48 hours. As the matches are getting extended till morning, players are withdrawing from such matches due to concerns about their physical and mental health and performance.

During this, fans have also often been seen sleeping in the stands or sofas. Murray and Kokkinakis’ match was the third longest ending match ever. Earlier, the match between Zverev and Brooksby in Mexico last year ended at 4:54 am and the match between Hewitt and Baghdatis at the 2008 Australian Open ended at 4:34 am.

After the match, Andy Murray said that such matches are not good for players, umpires and fans. Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios has said that late night matches are not at all good for the mental health of the players. Last year, most of his matches at the US Open used to end at 1 am, after which he used to go to sleep at 4 in the morning after finishing eating and drinking and talking to the media. This had a negative effect on his health. During such matches, the fans have to face problems. During late night matches, fans are sometimes found charging their phones while looking for cabs to go home. In the absence of public transport at night, they have to go home by shared cabs or taxis.

Tennis has rules about not starting a match after midnight, but there are currently no guidelines for matches ending after midnight. Also, in Grand Slam, best-of-5 is adopted in the match. Switching to Best of 3 can be one of the most effective ways to control the end of the match. Also this problem can be solved by starting matches early, having only 1 match instead of 2 in the night session. Also singles match can be held with doubles. If singles drags on, doubles can be played on another court.