Rain is the main story at the 2024 Miami Open

The Miami Open has been plagued with rain. Lengthy rain delays on Friday cancelled doubles matches and allowed few singles matches to be completed.

Coco Gauff was one of the lucky few that completed her match, and she did not expect to play given the weather forecast. Gauff was relieved to get the straight set win and potentially extra days off as the rest of the field catches up.

Approximately 48 matches are scheduled for Saturday. The problem with this ambitious plan is that rain is once again forecasted for most of the day making it virtually impossible for all of these matches to be completed. Weather forecasts are subject to error and change which hopefully will be the case.

Miami Open rain renews calls for covered courts at Masters 1000 tournaments

The Miami Open, like many Masters 1000 tournaments (including Indian Wells) does not have any covered courts. That makes consecutive days of rain debilitating for the tournament. Players' schedules are messy, and fans do not fully enjoy their Miami Open viewing experience.

With the revamping of tennis imminent, should another change be that all Masters 1000-level tournaments have at least one covered court? In the case of Miami where the main court is dropped in the middle of the football stadium where the Miami Dolphins play, a covered court seems unlikely.

Another issue with the rain is that when players do get to play, the conditions could still be damp. Gauff suffered a slip and fall on the court yesterday which could have been catastrophic. Players' health and safety are factors to be considered. Daniil Medvedev recently noted that the lines paint is slippery on hardcourts after bad weather. This also seems like an area that should be investigated and improved upon in the future.

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