Monte-Carlo Masters final rescheduled suddenly as organisers issue statement

Organisers of the Monte-Carlo Masters have been forced to reschedule Sunday's final to avoid a washout. Rainy weather threatened to wreak havoc on the singles championship match, and the tournament has now moved the start time forward by three hours.

The Monte-Carlo Masters issued a statement after making the late decision on Friday evening. The doubles tie will now take place after the singles, with the tournament already guaranteed a first-time champion.

There were fears that the Monte-Carlo final could be heavily delayed and postponed to Monday when the forecast showed rain throughout Sunday afternoon.

But tournament bosses have tried to get ahead of the curve, making the drastic decision to reschedule the men's singles final to 12pm local time (11am BST) after it was initially slated to begin at 3pm local.

Organisers shared a statement on their social media accounts and official app on Friday once the quarter-finals had been completed, confirming they had consulted the ATP before changing the order of play.

"Due to the weather forecast for Sunday, in consultation with ATP officials, the tournament organisers have decided to schedule the singles final at 12pm on Court Rainier III in order to give the best opportunity to successfully complete this incredible 2025 edition," it read.

"The doubles final is now scheduled to start after the singles final."

The tournament is set to crown a new first-time champion, with Carlos Alcaraz, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, , and Lorenzo Musetti through to the semis.

Last year's winner, Stefanos Tsitsipas, who also lifted the trophy in 2021 and 2022, was on Friday.

Of the last four, only Davidovich Fokina has previously made it to the championship match in Monte-Carlo, finishing runner-up in 2022. Alcaraz is the only man who has any titles at Masters 1000 level.

With the singles semi-finals starting at 1pm local time on Saturday, players will have less than 24 hours to recover in time for the rescheduled winner-take-all contest.

The organisers' decision to rejig Sunday's line-up comes after rain severely delayed . Two weeks ago, Novak Djokovic and Jakub Mensik took to the court more than five hours later than planned after play was suspended.

Monte-Carlo Masters officials will be hoping they can complete the singles and doubles matches on Sunday, avoiding carrying over any play to Monday.

All four of the singles semi-finalists are set to compete in the ATP 500 in Barcelona next week, and will want to get straight to their next tournament without any delays.