"Ridiculous for all parties involved" - Tennis world furious with scheduling of Victoria Azarenka's match at Australian Open 2023

Two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka advanced to the quarterfinals at Melbourne Park for the first time since 2016 by defeating Zhu Lin 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 in the fourth round. But there was one particular issue with this match: it began at midnight local time on Sunday and ended at 2:20 am on Monday.

The match was played on Rod Laver Arena, but the scheduling problem could have been easily avoided as there were other courts that were free. The Belarusian's match could have been played right after Iga Swiatek's contest against Elena Rybakina on Margaret Court Arena.

In that context, many tennis fans were outraged and they took to Twitter to criticize the Australian Open for its scheduling. Even Pam Shriver, a former tennis player, expressed her dissatisfaction that a women's singles match had started so late.

"I am sad for women’s singles to start this late," Shriver wrote.

18-time Grand Slam champion Martina Navratilova voiced her opinion as well, saying that it's difficult for the victorious players as they can't take a day off after playing so late.

"Do you know any other sport that starts this late? The ball kids can take the day off. The winning player can’t," Navratilova wrote.

Another user commented that not only are women tennis players treated unfairly, but that no one watches their matches due to the "terrible scheduling."

"I was one of vast majority of those on Rod Laver Arena, who having watched a great 5 setter finish around 11.00pm, decided not to stay and watch Azarenka v Zhu. Not only are the women treated unfairly with terrible scheduling after men’s match in night session, no one watches it," the user tweeted.

Here are a few more reactions from fans:

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"The game is shifting, it's improving; yeah, it's a challenge" - Victoria Azarenka on how the new generation inspires her to improve her game

Victoria Azarenka pictured on Day 7 of the 2023 Australian Open.

Following her third-round victory over American Madison Keys, Victoria Azarenka stated in a press conference that tennis was changing with the influx of young players. The former World No. 1 added that she looks up to the new generation to see how she can improve her own game and adapt to the changes.

"I feel like there's so much inspiration around, girls, guys, there's so much talent around tennis. For me it's about looking at the new generation, how I can beat them because they're coming with a lot of power, a lot of fearlessness," Victoria Azarenka said.

"For me it's about looking at also new generation to see how I need to improve my game because the game is shifting, it's improving. Yeah, it's a challenge," she added.