Martina Navratilova and Tim Henman delved into the scheduling fiasco that took place at the 2025 Miami Open, forcing Novak Djokovic and Sebastian Korda’s quarterfinal to be delayed by a day. Navratilova dubbed the entire incident a ‘scheduling mistake’.

Djokovic and Korda were scheduled to be the fifth and final match of the day at the Stadium. However, rain delay and three consecutive three-set thrillers forced the organizers to postpone the match. The announcement was made during Emma Raducanu and Jessica Pegula’s match, which led to a cacophony of boos.

The ATP and the WTA introduced a regulation prohibiting matches from starting after an 11 pm cutoff time for the safety and health of players. This was the reason behind the postponement of the Serb and the American’s quarterfinal.

Speaking on the entire fiasco, Martina Navratilova said:

“Yeah, they messed up on the scheduling.”

She mentioned how Emma Raducanu winning her second set against Jessica Pegula was the final nail in the coffin because of which led the organizers to postpone the game. The two women engaged in an enthralling two-hour and 25-minute thriller, which the American won 6-4, (3)6-7, 6-2.

“So, scheduling mistake, more rain delay, and then Novak Djokovic and Seb Korda paid the prize. They had to wait till 11 to see if they would go on the court. If Raducanu lost in two, they would’ve gone on, but she won the second set, so now they are playing today instead of yesterday. It’s a long wait. You accept the weather delays, but you really don’t want to accept human delays.

Tim Henman highlighted that both Novak Djokovic were aware of what was happening, while the crowd weren’t, making the situation ‘uncomfortable’.

“It was the implementation of the new rule on the ATP, WTA Tour that if you haven’t walked on by 11 pm, then the match can be canceled and moved over the next days. So I think the players obviously knew what was going on, but when we went on court, post-Raducanu, and the announcement was made, and there were still probably 10-11 thousand in the stadium, it was pretty uncomfortable.”

Martina Navratilova acknowledged that the 11 pm cut-off rule was good, but also talked about how the spectators learned their lesson.

“This is a good rule, but this Novak Djokovic vs Sebastian Korda fiasco showed how it is for the spectators and the players” – Martina Navratilova

Continuing her thoughts, Martina Navratilova also explained how the rule was oriented for the spectators and the players, who bore the brunt of it. She also highlighted how the people who paid to watch Novak Djokovic won’t be able to reuse their tickets to watch his match the next day.

“This is a good rule, but this showed how it is for the spectators and the players. Because if Raducanu loses her tiebreaker, they go on, but if she wins the tiebreaker, they go home, and they play tomorrow. It’s a new rule. The crowd, I guess, they learned the lesson, but they paid money to watch Djokovic, and he doesn’t play, and they can’t see him on same ticket today.”

The tennis fraternity also lashed out at the Miami Open organizers for the scheduling fiasco on social media, also highlighting how the tournament was opting for a similar schedule a day later.