Coco Gauff is into the Round of 32 at the Canadian Open, but to get there, she had to summon all her grit and determination.
After all, she was pushed to the brink by compatriot Danielle Collins, who actually served for the match before her 21-year-old opponent won the deciding third set on a tiebreak.
A dramatic, fitting conclusion to a fine night of tennis, lasting just shy of three hours, such a gruelling clash actually provoked memories of the issues faced at this very tournament two years ago.
Especially in one particular match, where Elena Rybakina faced Daria Kasatkina in the quarter-final.
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In a clash that lasted just shy of three and a half hours, she admitted she felt ‘destroyed’ afterwards, concluding her clash after 3am.
Coco Gauff certainly had plenty to say on the matter at the time.
What Coco Gauff said about the Canadian Open scheduling in 2023
Rightly, she was furious.
After all, when it comes to player welfare, this is as poor as it gets, to force one of the sport’s biggest stars to fight deep into the night because of poor scheduling.
Fortunately, it seems like that issue may have been fixed with the Canadian Open’s extension this year, now a 12-day event.
But, at the time, Gauff let loose: “Rybakina’s match she finished at 3am, which is insane. She’s right. It does set you up for a terrible week. I do think some of the tournaments, especially the one-week tournaments where there’s not that extra day, have to do better.
“It was 100% chance of rain that day at 6 pm. We knew. I wasn’t in Montreal, I was on the way to Cincinnati & I knew they weren’t playing that 6 pm match. Personally, I think they could’ve moved that match to the 2nd stadium.
“Because it sets up a bad week for that person and also the fans didn’t get to see a quality match in the final. Unfortunately, I think Elena & Iga said the same, there’s not much the players can do in that situation. We can fight.
Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images
“For me, when I had that night match against Marketa because of the rain, I really fought for the not-before 2:00 time, that saved me the extra 30 minutes in the morning.. But it’s tough because the tournament is trying to work with TV. There’s a lot of things people don’t realise. It’s not as easy as just saying, Let’s move all the matches up, because we still have to sell our sport.”
Despite that, Gauff gave her thoughts on the Canadian Open crowd ahead of the event, and said she did like one other change being made this year.
Is the longer Canadian Open a good or a bad thing?
There are many different schools of thought when it comes to elongating tournaments, with players having given their thoughts on both sides.
Some would argue that by extending these events, it only drags out more mentally draining periods.
The Grand Slams are the pinnacle of tennis, across a 14-day period, which pushes players to their physical and mental limits. To have some Masters 1000 events just two days shy of that seems smart in theory, to prevent the relentless day after day matches and allow for smarter scheduling.
However, it also forces players to remain in that stressful bubble for longer, adding to an already high-pressure atmosphere.
It’s all about preference, and for Gauff, after her complaints two years ago, the Canadian Open’s change seems like a logical solution.