Tennis fans have shared their frustrations after the Wimbledon curfew was imposed in the match between Alexander Zverev and Jiri Lehecka.
Taking place in the evening session on Centre Court on Day 8, the fourth round tie was suspended four minutes from the 11pm curfew.
At the time of the suspension at 10.55pm, German Zverev was leading his Czech ATP rival Lehecka 6-4, 7-5, 3-3.
The pair must now finish their match on Day 9, leading to several fans criticizing the curfew in place at Wimbledon.
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Tennis fans slam Wimbledon curfew as Alexander Zverev match suspended
Sharing their frustration on X, one fan said: “Every year ‘Wimbledon needs to fix its schedule’ and they never do. It’s ridiculous that Zverev & Lehecka wait all day to play and have to stop mid third set. Just start at midday, don’t even have to do 11am. Curfew of midnight too, why is that not doable?”
A second fan agreed, noting: “Then start the matches earlier in the day. This is just dumb and mismanagement of the tournament. There weren’t even that many matches today.”
Others concurred, commenting: “This is one hell of a rule. I hate this to the core,” and “Curfew is so ludicrous.”
And many others shared similar views, saying: “Another stupid rule,” “Dumb rule,” and “Wimbledon slowly becoming the worst Slam on tour.”
The same situation was only just avoided in the women’s singles draw, with Coco Gauff defeating Belinda Bencic with two minutes to spare in their round four tie.
The relieved American admitted afterwards that she was glad she didn’t have to return the following day, but Zverev and Lehecka weren’t so fortunate, with both noticeably frustrated with their situation.
Why is there a curfew at Wimbledon?
Of course, the Wimbledon curfew will not go away anytime soon, meaning many tennis fans won’t get their wish.
Introduced in 2009, the longstanding rule was brought in for the opening of the roof on the iconic Centre Court.
It was imposed by Merton Council, and exists out of consideration for the local residents as tennis fans make their way out of Wimbledon in the evenings.
The curfew also considers transportation for such fans at the All England Club, helping them return home safely.
Meanwhile, play at the likes of the Australian Open and US Open has often gone long into the night, with the locations of those venues clearly not impacting local residents like Wimbledon does.
