Miami Open final moved mid-match as schedule chaos returns on last day of tournament | Tennis | Sport

And the rain has returned on the last day, right in the middle of the women’s doubles final between the top two seeds. Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini were serving to force a first-set tiebreak against Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend on the main Stadium Court when the rain came. Play was suspended, and all four women swiftly left the court.

However, they will not be returning to the Stadium Court, and their final has been moved altogether, right in the middle of proceedings. Play is set to resume on the Grandstand court – the second-biggest showcourt on the grounds – at around 2.20pm local time (7.20pm BST), roughly 40 minutes after the match was halted.

Tournament organisers issued a statement on social media, confirming the new court assignment. “Match update: ERRANI/PAOLINI vs SINIAKOVA/TOWNSEND has been moved to the Grandstand Court, starting not before 2.20pm.”

On Sky Sports, commentator Naomi Cavaday explained that Miami Open officials were concerned about more rain delays in the coming hours and wanted to get both the women’s doubles and men’s singles finals completed.

“We can tell you the women’s doubles final will be getting back underway, as you can see there, in about five minutes. But they have been moved to the Grandstand court, so as not to delay the men’s singles final too much,” she said.

“I think that is a consideration because of the women’s doubles final, but also because of the rain that is still around, sort of circling as you can see, in all different directions. It’s looking fairly grey, so we might get a few more interruptions. But the women’s doubles final will be getting back underway very, very soon.”