Coco Gauff blasts French Open organizers and calls late finishes ‘unhealthy’ after Novak Djokovic wraps up win at 3am in Paris

Coco Gauff has hit out at French Open organizers after Novak Djokovic finished a match at 3am, calling late finishes ‘unhealthy’ for players.

Due to a scheduling change in Paris following numerous rain delays, Djokovic did not start his third-round match vs. Lorenzo Musetti until 10:37pm on Saturday night – ultimately finishing at 3:07am the next morning after a five-set comeback.
‘Yeah, I definitely think finishing at 3am is – I feel like a lot of times people think you’re done, but really, 3am, then you have [media responsibilities] and then you have to shower, eat, and then a lot of times people do treatments,’ Gauff told reporters.

‘So that’s probably not going to bed until 5 o’clock at the earliest, maybe 6 o’clock, and even 7 o’clock.’I definitely think it’s not healthy. It may be not fair for those who have to play late because it does ruin your schedule. I’ve been lucky I haven’t been put in a super-late finish yet.’

While the raucous late-night finishes at the US Open, for example, have been embraced by some fans and players, the night session at Roland Garros is fairly new.

It was only introduced in 2021, with one match played on the main Court Philippe Chatrier per evening since then.

Djokovic’s match – and other evening matches at the French Open – usually begin at 8:15pm, though even that would result in a late night for players in the event of a five-setter like the Serbian’s third-round win.

‘I don’t want to get into it,’ Djokovic said of his late finish after beating Musetti. ‘I have my opinions but I think there are great things to talk about as we are talking about this match and both Lorenzo’s and my performance stands out.

I don’t want to be talking about the schedule. I think some things could’ve been handled differently. But there’s beauty, as well, winning the match at 3.30am if it’s the last one of the tournament.