ESPN announcers were stunned by what they saw late Thursday evening during a second-round match at Wimbledon between American Ben Shelton and Australian Rinky Hijikata, as the referee made a sudden decision to suspend the match.
With the sun setting and three sets into the match, both athletes lobbied to have it suspended until Friday. The referee initially overruled them, and Shelton continued to outclass Hijikata on his way to a likely victory. Then, just as Shelton was getting ready to serve for match point, the referee finally paused the match due to darkness at 9:30 p.m. local time.
Shelton was up two sets to none, leading five games to four when the match was suspended.
It was as dramatic a scene as you could imagine in an early-round blowout match, and ESPN commentators could hardly hold back their shock.
Ben Shelton and the ESPN crew couldn’t believe the Wimbledon decision to suspend play right as he was about to serve for the match.
Shelton and Rinky Hijikata advocated to suspend the match “well over 30 minutes” before the decision.
“Oh my goodness!”
“This is unbelievable.” pic.twitter.com/TOURmRmxis
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 3, 2025
“This is painting themselves into a corner,” said match analyst James Blake of Wimbledon officials. “Now, Ben is furious that they’re stopping, 5-4, when he has to come out cold to serve 5-4 (on Friday).”
Back at the studio desk, analyst Coco Vandeghwe was even more frustrated.
“If I’m Ben Shelton, I’m really furious right now that I’m not able to serve it out,” Vandeghwe said. “Four points, four serves, it could be over in a matter of minutes.”
CoCo Vandeweghe: “If I’m Ben Shelton, I’m really furious right now that I’m not able to serve it out.”
James Blake (while having makeup put on after calling the match): “A bad decision forced another bad decision… They could’ve stopped at the end of the second set or at 4-2.” https://t.co/d7qA5sWb96 pic.twitter.com/dR3SUdjARb
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 3, 2025
To Blake’s credit, he was locked into the court conditions early. In addition to Shelton and Hijikata lobbying the referee to suspend the match, Blake noted on the ESPN telecast that the court was also slippery due to a rainstorm that had occurred earlier that day in southwest London. Because Shelton was dominating in the match, the commentary became completely overrun by chatter about the daylight and weather.
After the sixth game of the third set, Blake called out the referee’s delay.
“I am shocked they are playing right now,” the analyst said. “As much as we see how slippery it is, the light, and dealing with the electronic line-calling system. Sunset’s three minutes away. I thought they’d be stopping right now, but I guess, play on.”
As the third set reached 4-2…
James Blake: “I am shocked they are playing right now. As much as we see how slippery it is, the light, and dealing with the electronic line-calling system. Sunset’s three minutes away. I thought they’d be stopping right now…” #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/jrPavxhbBr
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 3, 2025
Shelton will get his chance to secure the win late Friday after the scheduled matches are complete, according to The Athletic. Given that he padded his lead so considerably before the suspension, he has a great chance to pull through.
And to ESPN’s credit, everyone on the broadcast crew met the moment of this surprising early-round subplot. Blake’s analysis, the production crew capturing multiple shots of Shelton, Hijikata, and the referee, and the studio crew keeping the story moving all made the moment pop in a manner that aligned with how it likely felt on the ground at Wimbledon.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.