US Open Rain Delays

One of the most important tournaments of the year, the US Open, is played during the rainy season of the northeast coast of the United States. There have been adjustments made to the schedule of play for the last four years when no changes have been able to avoid the final being played out of the weeks assigned to the play of the last Grand Slam of the year.

There are many implications of having the play start the last Monday of August for Labor Day weekend to be the just in the middle of the tournament and attract as many people as possible to the event, but is the weather and rescheduling affecting the business? There is no one who can control the rain and there is no way something can be done to keep every match on track or is it? Is it really worth to have the event on those dates? Are the profits greater than the losses with all the changes made and the uncertainty that comes after it has been proven, for many years now, that no matter what someday on the length of the tournament the rain will come? Are people aware, really aware, of the implications that come when buying a ticket for those dates and that the odds the weather to have play delayed are really high?

There are many solutions that have been proposed, they go from starting the tournament a day earlier, to changing the complete tournament to different dates. The ATP Tour’s calendar changes regularly every four years and we will have to wait and see if there are any mayor changes done for 2014. The committee that decides this should really consider that there is no one being benefited from this situation that is unlikely to change, and in which no one has control over. The organizers, players, and fans are affected; the tournament organizers have to figure out a way to keep the most people happy and undermine losses; players are under a lot of stress and delays do not help them keep their focus; and, fans loose their money and the chance to enjoy such an event.

Until now, nothing is clear about the course that this will take, but for sure, something will be done, lets just hope that it is sooner rather than later.

Written by: Alejandra