This year has been yet another thrilling iteration of the US Open, and we still have just under a week of action to go.
However, there has also been plenty of controversy, perhaps fitting with the raucous, outlandish and supremely marketable nature of this event.
Jelena Ostapenko’s comments about Taylor Townsend have dominated the headlines for all the wrong reasons, whilst Daniil Medvedev’s aggressive reaction to his early exit raised eyebrows too.
And now, amongst all this turmoil, the scheduling has also been called into question by the three pundits of The Tennis Podcast.
US Open schedule questioned
Speaking about Venus Williams’ magical run in the ladies’ doubles, it was Catherine Whitaker who noted the issues this may have caused.
After all, in an effort to give the legendary 45-year-old the platform she deserves alongside Leylah Fernandez, having played on the Louis Armstrong Stadium earlier today, it may have unsettled the schedule for the singles matches.
She began by noting: “That means, that schedule means the fact that they’ve put the Venus Williams doubles on Armstrong means that a singles match has to be relegated to Grandstand, and the one they’ve chosen is Marta Kostyuk against Karolina Muchova, which will be fantastic on Armstrong, but it is a shame and a little bit of a burn.”
Matt Roberts then chimed in: “Yeah, they’re being sort of singled out. I mean, I think if I had to pick a singles match tomorrow…”
Whitaker interjected: “It’s De Minaur Rieidi.”
Roberts then picked up where he left off: “I think it’s that one. I mean, potentially it’s Musetti Munar. I think it’s probably one of those two. I guess, you know, they want they want the two best of five on Armstrong is my assumption.”
David Law did add the silver lining for one of the singles players affected, concluding: “I’ll tell you what, Muchova will be pleased about it from a court playing perspective because she really enjoyed it the other day, I think against Noskova. That’s the court she was on.”
Venus Williams has to take centre stage
Realistically, the US Open schedulers cannot really be lambasted for prioritising Venus Williams.
After all, despite the evergreen and ageless nature of the 45-year-old superstar, it’s still not certain how many more times we will get to see her play on the professional circuit.
Photo by Robert Prange/Getty Images
So, when she does decide to pick up the racket, and especially when she is enjoying such an unprecedented run in her home country, she must be rewarded with the top billing.
It’s an unfortunate situation for the singles stars, but they must understand that a player of her magnitude presides over most others.
Fortunately, we could have her successor ready to step up, given Venus Williams recently pinpointed the similarities she shares with Fernandez, her partner.