"US Open is by far the dumbest Major";"Money hungry" - Fans furious as Maria Sakkari-Beatriz Haddad Maia clash starts 'unnecessarily late' after delay

Maria Sakkari and Beatriz Haddad Maia's third-round clash at the 2025 US Open got off to an extraordinarily late start on the Louis Armstrong Stadium. This prompted several fans to criticize the hardcourt Major.

According to these critical fans, the tournament prioritizes money instead of players' health and the people who go to watch the matches. Some journalists also chimed in with their opinions on the subject.

On the night of Saturday, August 30, Sakkari and Haddad Maia's match on Louis Armstrong Court was delayed following the conclusion of the men's singles third-round clash between Felix Auger-Aliassime and Alexander Zverev, which the Canadian won in four sets. Tennis journalist Jose Morgado took to X (formerly Twitter), wondering why the match between the WTA stars wasn't moved to another court.

"Can't understand why they don't move Sakkari-Haddad Maia already. 30 minutes to play five games in this 3rd set with one set all," Morgado wrote.

José Morgado

@josemorgado

Can't understand why they don't move Sakkari-Haddad Maia already. 30 minutes to play five games in this 3rd set with one set all.

Other prominent journalists such as Simon Cambers and Ben Rothenberg also weighed in. Cambers wrote:

"What happened to the @usopen rule that if a match is not going to start by 11.15pm, it should be moved to another court? Another unnecessary late finish and Sakkari/Haddad Maia play way later than they needed to"

Simon Cambers

@scambers73

What happened to the @usopen rule that if a match is not going to start by 11.15pm, it should be moved to another court? Another unnecessary late finish and Sakkari/Haddad Maia play way later than they needed to

Rothenberg wrote in response to Cambers' post:

"Women should be first on in night sessions every time. Nothing else makes sense so long as men play this format."

Ben Rothenberg

@BenRothenberg

Women should be first on in night sessions every time. Nothing else makes sense so long as men play this format.

It didn't take long for fans to deliver their takes on the US Open's scheduling of matches.

"Because US Open is by far the dumbest major out of the 4," one fan wrote.

"Because their money hungry they don’t care how late players have to play as long as their getting paid," commented another.

"There are no rules when money is king," another fan chimed in.

"They want to give them two matches on Armstrong but that is just stupid. 80% of them will leave anyways and there will be no atmosphere. Not fair to the ladies winner for recovery time either and to wait that long. Tennis will tennis!," stated one.

"Always the dollars. Always the f**king dollars. They would have too many issues with customers paying to see the scheduled match if it is moved to another court. Aww but it’s cute you think they care enough about the players to do what’s in their best interest re:scheduling," another added.

"The stadium will be 95% empty due to such a late start. Of course, the @usopen has refused to follow the lead from Indian Wells and start their night sessions at 6pm so this is the end result," weighed in yet another fan.

Haddad Maia ultimately dispatched Sakkari in straight sets, with the Brazilian now set to face home hope Amanda Anisimova in the fourth round.

---

Alexander Bublik and Tommy Paul's men's singles 3R clash at US Open finished beyond 1 AM local time in NYC

Tommy Paul (left) and Alexander Bublik (right) after the end of their men's singles third-round match at the 2025 US Open (Source: Getty)

Alexander Bublik and Tommy Paul played a marathon five-setter in their men's singles third-round encounter at the 2025 US Open, which started on Saturday night but ended in the early hours of Sunday. The match, which Bublik won after Paul physically struggled towards the end, lasted more than three-and-a-half hours and came to its conclusion after the clock turned 1 AM local time on Sunday, August 31.

Concerned for Tommy Paul and Ben Shelton, whose runs at the hardcourt Major ended marred by injury and physical distress, Bublik said in his post-match on-court interview:

"We all saw that Ben got injured. It was really a pity and then I saw today Tommy. So I would like to wish them, you know, the best recovery because they are close friends and it was a pity to see them like this. So let's wish Ben and Tommy a good recovery."

Bublik will now face reigning World No. 1 and defending US Open champion Jannik Sinner in the fourth round. The Kazakh trails the Italian 2-4 in the pair's head-to-head. However, he defeated Sinner the last time they met; a Round of 16 clash at this year's Terra Wortmann Open in Halle, where the Kazakh ended up winning the title.