Daniil Medvedev champions a six p.m. solution to end late night chaos
The humid air of a Brisbane summer evening carries more than just the scent of jasmine and hard-court sweat this week. It carries the weight of a conversation that has long plagued professional tennis.
As the tour descends upon Queensland to kick off the 2026 season, the familiar specter of those grueling “Midnight Madness” matches is already on the minds of the world’s elite.
Leading the charge for a more sensible schedule is Daniil Medvedev, the former US Open champion who has never been shy about speaking his mind, regardless of whose feathers it might ruffle.
The debate over late-night finishes reached a fever pitch last season, with players and fans alike lamenting the physical and logistical toll of five-set marathons ending at 4:00 a.m.
In the relative calm of his opening press conference in Brisbane, Medvedev was asked if he had lobbied his peers regarding his recent suggestion to shift the Australian Open’s night session start time from 7:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
In typical Medvedev fashion, the response was pragmatic and devoid of locker-room politics. “I didn’t talk with players about it,” the Russian admitted with a slight shrug. “I mean, at least that’s my feeling, we don’t really like talk too much about what other players said in the press.”
While he hasn’t been knocking on doors in the players’ lounge to gather signatures, Medvedev remains convinced that his proposal is the common-sense solution the sport desperately needs.
His logic is simple — by moving the start time forward by just sixty minutes, the tour provides a crucial buffer that could prevent the most extreme late-night finishes that have become a controversial hallmark of the Australian swing.
“I do think that if you ask other players don’t think anyone would be like ‘No let’s start at 8.’ Probably everyone would be happy to start at six,” Medvedev noted. It is a sentiment that resonates with a locker room that is increasingly vocal about player welfare and recovery.
When a match ends in the early hours of the morning, the “recovery” process, including media obligations, physio sessions, and a meal, often means a player isn’t seeing their bed until the sun is already high in the sky.
The primary hurdle to an earlier start time has always been the length of the preceding day session.
Tournament organizers often fear that a long afternoon match could bleed into the evening slot, creating a logistical bottleneck at the gates. However, Medvedev argues that a flexible 6:00 p.m. slot is a risk worth taking for the potential reward of a midnight finish rather than a pre-dawn one.
“I know that then it can though like be a problem for the day matches,” he acknowledged, “but I’m pretty sure that it’s better to put it at six and if we need to start at seven because of the day match okay but then there is a chance you can still start at six which would be better to not finish at like 3:00 in the morning.”
Medvedev’s stance is particularly interesting given his own competitive preferences.
He isn’t calling for an earlier start because he dislikes the limelight or the atmosphere of a night match. On the contrary, the Russian thrives under the lights, where his unique brand of tactical “octopus” tennis can wear down opponents in the cooler air.
“I always said that even by saying this I prefer to play at night,” he clarified. “So whatever seven six second I’m happy to play at night.”
For now, Medvedev is focused on the task at hand in Brisbane, happy to be back on the fast outdoor hard courts he loves. But as the sun sets over the Queensland Tennis Centre, his words serve as a reminder that in tennis, as in life, timing is everything.
