'No one even told us': Linda Noskova questions US Open roof closure delay after loss to Sabalenka

Linda Noskova was made to serve as sunlight gave way to shadows during a key stage of her US Open quarterfinal loss to Aryna Sabalenka on Tuesday, after a delay meant the roof above Arthur Ashe Stadium could not finish adjusting in time.Sabalenka was leading 5-4 in the third set when Noskova stepped up to serve. At that point, most of the court was still in sunlight. By the time Noskova played her first point, the shadow had moved close to the middle of the court. After she won that point, almost the entire court was in shade when the next point started.“I did notice the roof closing right after the point, although it started closing even before the point, so it was weird,” Noskova said. "No one even told us about it, I guess. We didn’t expect it at all.“At the same time, I knew that the tournament wanted to keep us in the shade, and not have us play on the light throughout the whole match. But at the same time, it was, like, a crucial point of the match, so I don’t know why they started moving it so late.”The US Open's roof policy states that “the roof may partially close on Arthur Ashe Stadium to move the shade line fully across the court to optimize visibility for players and broadcast.”Since the roof was only being moved enough to create shade and was not being fully closed, the adjustment should have been completed during the changeover before Noskova began serving. However, the process was delayed because the match itself had started late.A full closure of the roof takes about six minutes, meaning play would have to be stopped.After Sabalenka won 7-6 (1), 3-6, 7-6 (10-7), Noskova said the changing shadows had not bothered her.“Well, it was fine the way it was,” the Wimbledon champion said. “I feel like maybe in the very beginning it was more tough than as the match went on, but I don’t know. Didn’t really make a big difference for me if we were playing in shade or not.”Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.