The women’s doubles final was rained off with Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani serving at 5-6 (Image: Sky Sports)
Miami Open organisers have taken action after rain wreaked havoc on the schedule during the final day of the tournament. The weather has not played ball this fortnight – a whole day of WTA qualifying was rained off a couple of weeks ago. There was another washout last Wednesday, with main-draw ATP and WTA matches cancelled and rescheduled. And more rain heavily delayed proceedings last Friday, with some matches moved, and others pushed back by a day.
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.
The women’s doubles final started on the Stadium Court before play was suspended due to rain (Image: Sky Sports)
“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.”
However, as of 2.40pm local time (7.40pm BST), the players still hadn’t made their way onto the Grandstand court to continue the doubles final. Meanwhile, Jannik Sinner and Jiri Lehecka will be waiting in the wings to see whether the men’s singles final will start on time at 3pm local time (8pm BST).
With the women’s doubles clash moved, the Stadium Court will now be free for them to walk on at 3pm as planned. But that is weather permitting. Any further delays shouldn’t come as a huge surprise given the poor forecast for the rest of the day. And No. 2 seed Sinner has been expecting some schedule chaos.
After winning his semi-final match on Friday, the 2024 champion admitted he’d seen the forecast, but still hoped for the best. “Let’s see also the weather forecast. It’s also not promising, but we hope for a day as dry as possible, and that we have a chance to play. No matter what happens now in the final, of course, I will give it the best shot,” he said.
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