Ben Shelton was the latest player directly affected by the Wimbledon curfew.
Inherent in the definition of the word curfew is a specific time when something happens. Ask any teenage kid (or his or her parents) to explain a curfew, and they will tell you that if he or she is not home at a specific time, trouble happens.
So the original Wimbledon curfew was 11 PM. At that time, tennis is over for the night. On the surface, this is a good idea to protect players from having matches that go into the early hours of the morning, affecting their ability to be healthy and rested for future rounds.
However, Wimbledon’s application of the so-called curfew is where the confusion lies.
10:22 PM is not 11 PM
It seems obvious that 10:22 PM is not the same as 11 PM; however, Taylor Fritz‘s first-round match against Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard was called at 10:22 PM at the end of the fourth set.
Taylor Fritz is livid as his match with Giovani Mpetshi Perricard is suspended due to curfew… which isn’t for another 38 minutes pic.twitter.com/roP2AybTDl
— Barstool Tennis (@StoolTennis) June 30, 2025
Both players had to agree to continue to play until 11 PM and Mpetshi Perricard just dropped two sets so he was ready to head to the locker room.
9:29 PM is not 11 PM
It is redundant, but 9:29 PM is not 11 PM. Ben Shelton was one service hold away from winning his second round match against Rinky Hijikata when the match wsa suspended for darkness.
Ben Shelton reacts to his match against Rinky Hijikata being suspended at 9:29 PM local time.
The match will be resumed tomorrow after play is suspended due to darkness. pic.twitter.com/6X3mFleai0
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 3, 2025
It is a disservice to the fans and to Shelton and Hijikata who have to go through a lot of extra hassle to resume play sometime tomorrow for potentially one game that could last less than five minutes.
The Wimbledon curfew is a moving target
Obviously, the Wimbledon curfew is not one. It seems to be a suggested time when play might stop, if not before. If darkness is the issue, the times of sunset/dusk are known and published well in advance of the matches so the tournament needs to manage early round match schedules better or figure out a different solution.
It is pretty disappointing to see the tournament which normally handles everything in pristine fashion mismanage its own rule so badly.
