Grand Slam Tennis... Night Finals
The U.S. Open Men’s finals has been played in the late afternoon into the early evening for years. It follows the afternoon NFL football games in the U.S. on the host broadcaster CBS which serves as a strong lead-in to the tennis. A few years ago when the Williams sisters were dominating women’s tennis, the USTA decided to switch the Women’s finals to prime time TV and it is now played at 8 pm on live TV in the U.S. The Australian Open
Men’s finals has been played in prime time on Sunday night for the past few years and now it appears that the women’s finals may be switched to Saturday night in the future. Since the French Open doesn’t have lights or a roof over Court Central, it is unlikely that the finals at Roland Garros will be played at night in the near future. Wimbledon will be adding a roof to Centre Court by 2009, but given the importance of tradition, one would assume that it may be many years, if ever, before Wimbledon schedules the finals at night. What is the significance of playing Grand Slam finals at night? Clearly, tennis continues to endeavor to become more “entertaining” for its fans while also seeking to attract new fans. Scheduling the finals at night seems to be done primarily to appeal to TV broadcasters in different regions as a way of introducing the game to more fans. Professional tennis continues to face increasing competition for the time and attention of its existing, as well as potential fans. Therefore, although it’s wonderful to see tennis played in glorious sunshine it may be inevitable that more major tennis finals are shifted to the evening.
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