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Navratilova blasts scheduling chaos
Martina Navratilova has been playing Grand Slam tennis events for 30 years but she claims that the scheduling at the US Open is the worst she has ever seen.
Martina Navratilova has been playing Grand Slam tennis events for 30 years but she claims that the scheduling at the US Open is the worst she has ever seen.
Rain postponed matches for the third day in a row and fourth in five days, have created havoc as US Tennis Association officials alter match schedules and often make players wait hours for matches unlikely to ever take the court.
"It's the worst schedule that I have ever been a part of in any Grand Slam," Navratilova said. "The other players, they would say the same thing. But they haven't played in as many Grand Slams as me.
"I don't remember it this bad ever."
Navratilova, a four-time singles champion here, suggests a single person be charged with making schedule decisions at all four Slam events.
"The structure of who makes decisions needs to change," Navaratilova said. "They have not been consulting players.
"The people who make decisions aren't allowed to make decisions. Nobody can make a decision and the ones than can will not until they absolutely have to. Their motto is 'Don't do something. Just stand there.' It's very frustrating."
Navratilova, 46, has won 18 singles, 31 doubles and nine mixed doubles Grand Slam titles. She has become annoyed as she watches her doubles matches and many others jumbled around times and courts, keeping players waiting and on edge.
"When you know it's raining at 11, you make choices," she said. "If it's still raining at 2, we let these matches go. If it's still raining at 5, we let these matches go or this is the revised schedule.
"But this is like they get to 5 and say, uh, OK, uh... Everybody has been staying here longer than they should have."
Typical of the situation was women's world number one Kim Clijsters, who was set for the first match Tuesday, had her match delayed six hours and then was told at that point she would not play so Andre Agassi's match could go on.
"I've never seen that before, where they flip the order of play arbitrarily," Navratilova said. "If you really have to play the men's match that badly, you schedule it first."
While players were kept waiting, the decisions also meant spectators have been kept waiting around in hopes of seeing tennis, spending money on food and souvenirs all the while to boost the USTA bank account.
"It's atrocious," Navratilova said. "Of course it's important to make money but you also have to run a good tournament. Those decisions are near-sighted."
