The Masters 1000 tournaments in Canada and Cincinnati were extended this year. They now feature 96-player singles draws and last 12 days each. The new schedules meant the Canadian Open finals were played on a Thursday, while the championship matches in Cincinnati were scheduled for Monday.
The men’s singles final between Sinner and Alcaraz started at 3pm local time, while the women’s final between Iga Swiatek and Jasmine Paolini was given a start time of not before 6pm.
Tennis finals, especially for bigger tournaments, usually take place on a Sunday. There was already backlash from fans who questioned why a blockbuster match like Sinner vs Alcaraz had been placed in the middle of a working day.
When the match ultimately ended after just five games, world No. 18 Davidovich Fokina publicly called out organisers for the controversial scheduling.
“A Monday final at 3pm in August in Cincinnati, after the whole Toronto–Cincinnati swing, with so many retirements and players dead tired… something needs to change,” he tweeted following Sinner’s retirement.
The brutal conditions in Cincinnati have been a major talking point over the last week and a half. Some matches were halted when spectators in the crowd became unwell, while players have also struggled in the searing heat.
Arthur Rinderknech collapsed during his third-round match against Felix Auger-Aliassime and later retired.
In the men’s singles main draw, Luciano Darderi, Camilo Ugo Carabelli, Jakub Mensik, Frances Tiafoe, Karen Khachanov, and Davidovich Fokina himself all retired mid-match.
Davidovich Fokina was leading teenage star Joao Fonseca by a set and 4-0 when he suddenly became out of sorts. Fonseca won five games in a row, and the Spaniard forfeited the match, leading 7-6 4-5.
The world No. 18 also retired from his match at the recent Canadian Open.
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