New rules to curb late finishes introduced by WTA and ATP

The WTA and ATP have jointly announced on Tuesday new scheduling regulations that restrict evening matches to two per court and per day, with a recommended start time of 18:30 local time to curb matches from concluding in the early morning hours.

The Australian Open will switch to a Sunday start and be held over 15 days instead of 14 for the first time this year in a bid to avoid such late finishes, organizers said in October.

There will be no more than five matches per day, per court, with three matches during the day session and two matches during the evening session, the organizing bodies said.