By Richard Pagliaro | Monday, September 8, 2025
Photo credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty
NEW YORK—Sports and politics don’t often make ideal mixed doubles partners.
Hall of Famer Martina Navratilova ripped the delayed start time of the US Open men’s final as “absolutely insane.”
The Flushing Meadows final between world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz was scheduled to start at 2 p.m.
However heightened security and bag checks for fans entering the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center because of President Donald Trump’s attendance created delays both for patrons and the match itself. Consequently, the final did not start until about 2:45 p.m.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Navratilova, a long-time vocal critic of President Trump, blasted the delay as “absolutely insane.”
“For the final to be postponed because of this is absolutely insane,’ said Navratilova on Sky Sports. ‘”People have paid thousands of dollars for these tickets. It was half empty at the start, normally this place would be rocking.”
Indeed, there were some empty seats, particularly in the upper sections of Ashe Stadium, when the men’s final finally began. In contrast, the women’s final between Aryna Sabalenka and Amanda Anisimova that started around 4 p.m. on Saturday was packed with fans from nearly the first ball.
At about 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, a half hour before the original scheduled start time of the men’s final, the USTA sent out a news release announcing an expected half hour delay. Here’s that USTA statement sent yesterday:
FLUSHING, N.Y., September 7, 2025 — As as result of the security measures in place, and to ensure that fans have additional time to get to their seats, we have pushed the start time of today’s match to 2:30 p.m. ET.
Prior to the final, the USTA sent an email out to broadcasters requesting they mute reaction to President Trump’s appearance. A USTA email, obtained by journalist Ben Rothenberg of Bounces, requested
“With respect to Broadcast Coverage, the President will be shown on the World Feed and the Ashe Court Feed during the opening anthem ceremony. We ask all broadcasters to refrain from showcasing any disruptions or reactions in response to the President’s attendance in any capacity, including ENG [Electronic News Gathering] coverage.”
Sky Sports analyst and former WTA star Laura Robson did not heed that USTA request and commented on crowd reaction to Queens native Donald Trump on Sky Sports.
“They’ve just shown Trump on the big screen, lots of boos,” Robson observed on Sky Sports.
We were sitting in media section 131 for the final. From our vantage point, when President Trump’s face first appeared on the video screens during the National Anthem, the image was briefly displayed (probably about 7 seconds) eliciting both boos and cheers from different sections of Ashe Stadium.
Later in the match, the President, seated in the Rolex Suite directly across from chair umpire James Keothavong’s seat, was displayed on the big screen for about 10 to 12 seconds.
That second appearance drew much louder and mixed response. From our vantage point, there were many more boos than cheers though there were supportive cheers and clapping as well as the boos and jeers. President Trump acknowledged the crowd during that second stint on the big screen waving a clenched fist.
Celebrities in attendance were shown on the big screen during changeovers throughout the finals.
New Jersey natives Bruce Springsteen and Danny De Vito drew the loudest cheers from Ashe Stadium fans with Springsteen receiving a loud and sustained roar of support from fans. At one point, the sound system blasted Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark” while a smiling Springsteen, sporting sunglasses, waved to fans before the camera cut to actress Courtney Cox, who starred in the music video for that song.
Danny De Vito, a big tennis fan, also attended the International Tennis Hall of Fame gala in Manhattan over the weekend as did former US Open champion Marat Safin, who conducted the coin toss for the final.
Actor Michael J. Fox and musician Sting also received rousing receptions from Ashe Stadium fans when their faces were shown on the big screens.
