By Richard Pagliaro | Monday, September 8, 2025
Picture credit score: Clive Brunskill/Getty
NEW YORK—Sports activities and politics don’t typically make best blended doubles companions.
Corridor of Famer Martina Navratilova ripped the delayed begin time of the US Open males’s ultimate as “completely insane.”
The Flushing Meadows ultimate between world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz was scheduled to start out at 2 p.m.
Nonetheless heightened safety and bag checks for followers coming into the USTA Billie Jean King Nationwide Tennis Middle due to President Donald Trump’s attendance created delays each for patrons and the match itself. Consequently, the ultimate didn’t begin till about 2:45 p.m.
Talking on Sky Sports activities, Navratilova, a long-time vocal critic of President Trump, blasted the delay as “completely insane.”
“For the ultimate to be postponed due to that is completely insane,’ stated Navratilova on Sky Sports activities. ‘”Folks have paid 1000’s of {dollars} for these tickets. It was half empty at the beginning, usually this place could be rocking.”
Certainly, there have been some empty seats, significantly within the higher sections of Ashe Stadium, when the lads’s ultimate lastly started. In distinction, the ladies’s ultimate between Aryna Sabalenka and Amanda Anisimova that began round 4 p.m. on Saturday was filled with followers from almost the primary ball.
At about 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, a half hour earlier than the unique scheduled begin time of the lads’s ultimate, the USTA despatched out a information launch asserting an anticipated half hour delay. Right here’s that USTA assertion despatched yesterday:
FLUSHING, N.Y., September 7, 2025 — As as results of the safety measures in place, and to make sure that followers have further time to get to their seats, now we have pushed the beginning time of right now’s match to 2:30 p.m. ET.
Previous to the ultimate, the USTA despatched an electronic mail out to broadcasters requesting they mute response to President Trump’s look. A USTA electronic mail, obtained by journalist Ben Rothenberg of Bounces, requested
“With respect to Broadcast Protection, the President shall be proven on the World Feed and the Ashe Courtroom Feed throughout the opening anthem ceremony. We ask all broadcasters to chorus from showcasing any disruptions or reactions in response to the President’s attendance in any capability, together with ENG [Electronic News Gathering] protection.”
Sky Sports activities analyst and former WTA star Laura Robson didn’t heed that USTA request and commented on crowd response to Queens native Donald Trump on Sky Sports activities.
“They’ve simply proven Trump on the large display screen, plenty of boos,” Robson noticed on Sky Sports activities.
We have been sitting in media part 131 for the ultimate. From our vantage level, when President Trump’s face first appeared on the video screens throughout the Nationwide Anthem, the picture was briefly displayed (most likely about 7 seconds) eliciting each boos and cheers from completely different sections of Ashe Stadium.
Later within the match, the President, seated within the Rolex Suite instantly throughout from chair umpire James Keothavong’s seat, was displayed on the large display screen for about 10 to 12 seconds.
That second look drew a lot louder and blended response. From our vantage level, there have been many extra boos than cheers although there have been supportive cheers and clapping in addition to the boos and jeers. President Trump acknowledged the group throughout that second stint on the large display screen waving a clenched fist.
Celebrities in attendance have been proven on the large display screen throughout changeovers all through the finals.
New Jersey natives Bruce Springsteen and Danny De Vito drew the loudest cheers from Ashe Stadium followers with Springsteen receiving a loud and sustained roar of assist from followers. At one level, the sound system blasted Springsteen’s “Dancing within the Darkish” whereas a smiling Springsteen, sporting sun shades, waved to followers earlier than the digicam minimize to actress Courtney Cox, who starred within the music video for that track.
Danny De Vito, a giant tennis fan, additionally attended the Worldwide Tennis Corridor of Fame gala in Manhattan over the weekend as did former US Open champion Marat Safin, who performed the coin toss for the ultimate.
Actor Michael J. Fox and musician Sting additionally acquired rousing receptions from Ashe Stadium followers when their faces have been proven on the large screens.
