US Open chiefs forced to abandon court as Laura Robson sheds light on worrying problem | Tennis | Sport
US Open bosses were forced to abandon one of their show courts on day one of the tournament.
Two Brits were expected to be in action on Court 9 at the USTA Billie Jean King Tennis Centre. However, their matches were ultimately scheduled on Court 16, usually used for practice.
Laura Robson has now shed light on the concerning problem which forced organisers to scrap singles matches on the smaller stage.
Jan Choinski is opening play on Court 16 on day one of the US Open after coming through qualifying. British No. 3 Harriet Dart will later contest the third match on the same track. But it was a late decision to allow play on the outside court.
Explaining why the Brits were competing on a different stage, Robson told Sky Sports: “It’s because, due to the heat and humidity, after they resurfaced the court about two-and-a-half weeks ago out on Court 9, it started to bubble up.
“And initially that wasn’t an issue, it was playing the same as all the other surfaces. But then the bubbles get bigger. And so late on Thursday night, after qualifying finished, I was out there and I was like, ‘They’re resurfacing the court, how bizarre.’”
Tournament chiefs initially hoped that Court 9 would be ready for singles action but they were forced to abandon their plans when the new surface wasn’t ready in time. It remains to be seen whether it will be used for the rest of the tournament.
Robson continued: “And of course, once you resurface a court, it plays totally different, it’s so much slower. They were hoping to still play singles out on Court 9 over the next few days, that looks very unlikely. Last I heard, they were only thinking of playing doubles on there but if you’re a doubles player, you’re thinking, why am I getting the short straw on that one?
“So instead, we’re out on Court 16 which is usually a bit of a practice court. Things move all the time in tennis and it did happen before at the Australian Open. It’s not totally unusual but yeah, a bit of a change-up in terms of court surface over the other side.”
