The argument over whether women should play best-of-five-set tennis is one that has raged for decades now, and continues to split opinion.
After all, whilst many players on the WTA Tour insist they could match that physical feat, their desire to do so appears limited.
This has encompassed wider debates around equality and prize money, with the general feeling being that women could play five-set tennis from the quarter-finals at Grand Slams, as a compromise.
However, even that is not appealing to some stars, with Amanda Anisimova and Jasmine Paolini the two latest to offer their views.
Amanda Anisimova and Jasmine Paolini don’t want women playing five-set matches
Speaking at their respective press conferences yesterday, both Anisimova and Paolini were asked about whether they’d like to see women play five-set matches at Grand Slam events anytime soon.
They, like most others on the WTA Tour, seemed sceptical.
Do you think women should play best-of-five set matches?
The American began by simply stating: I mean, we’ve always played best-of-three, so I feel like that would be a crazy change for us. Also very physical on a woman’s body. So, yeah, I prefer to obviously play three sets, for sure.”
Paolini’s response was lengthier, but echoed the same sentiment: “At the moment, I don’t think it’s a good idea. Honestly, to me, maybe it’s better to reduce the sets of the men maybe until the quarterfinals. I’m not sure.
“I think also some good matches are of course in the best-of-five, but it’s a tough tournament. We could see also in the men that the Australian Open was tough for them. Maybe from the quarterfinals on would be a nice idea.
“But to the women, I don’t think it’s a good idea, honestly, to me. I mean, we are built different physically. So if the men had a tricky tournament physically, for us, we are different physically, so it’s going to be, I mean, it’s tougher. It’s not a lie. We’re just built different.”
What has been said about women playing best-of-five-set matches at Grand Slams?
The debate has been an ongoing one for years now, but was intensified when, during last month’s Australian Open, director Craig Tiley outlined his plans to rush the initiative out.
He claimed: “One of the things I’ve been saying now is that I think there should be three out of five sets for women.
Will Amanda Anisimova win a Grand Slam title in 2026?
“Certainly, if we’re going to do it and we think it’s the right thing, we’ll definitely go in 2027.”
Given these responses, it feels like the women themselves have not been consulted on what would be a huge, historic change for the sport, and one that would directly impact the athletes involved.
The reaction has been mixed, but seems largely negative.
If the players don’t unanimously want this change, it’s one that likely should not be rushed out.
