As of 2024, the Australian Open will begin a day earlier. According to Ed McGrogan of tennis.com, the first major of the year will commence on Sunday rather than the traditional Monday.
This is the second major to begin on a Sunday. The French Open first began on Sunday in 2006, the year the tournament was won by Rafael Nadal of Spain and Justine Henin of Belgium. In the men’s final, Nadal beat Roger Federer of Switzerland 1-6, 6-1, 6-4, 7-6. Henin beat Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia, 6-4, 6-4.
The reason for the change in schedule is because there are efforts made by organizers to prevent late night finishes. This means the first round will take place over a span of three days rather than two days. A down side to the scheduling change is that some players will have a significant amount of more time to prepare than their opponents when the second round begins.
One must also realize that the marathon match of the 2023 Australian Open came in the second round, and not the first round. That is where Andy Murray, the three-time grand slam champion, beat Australia’s own Thanasi Kokkinakis 4-6, 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, 7-5. The match lasted five hours and 45 minutes, and ended at 4:05 Australian time. It was the longest match of Murray’s career.
There also needs to be consideration about starting the Australian Open earlier each day. Why not start matches at 9 am Australian time rather than 11 am? Players would probably go for that proposal because they would be competing in cooler morning conditions rather than the afternoon, where they are dealing with the blazing sun.
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