In the 1970s, a radical change was made to the sport of tennis.
In 1973, the Australian Open introduced a new Grand Slam format for male players contesting first-round matches at their tournament.
The players would contest a three-set match, rather than five.
The French Open followed suit, introducing three-set matches for the first two rounds from 1973 to 1975.
The US Open also implemented the new format for the first three rounds of their event in 1975, 1976 and 1978. In fact, in 1977, three-set matches were played in the first four rounds of the 1977 US Open.
However, the format did not stick, and the five-set structure has remained a feature at all men’s Grand Slam events to this day.
However, could we see the re-introduction of three-set contests in the future?
Rick Macci calls for ATP Grand Slam matches to be best-of-three contests
Rick Macci, the former coach of the Williams sisters, has weighed in on the current Grand Slam format being used on the ATP Tour.
The legendary coach, who recently made a bold claim about Coco Gauff’s serve, clearly believes a change needs to be made, citing the physical toll five-set matches have on players.
On X [Twitter], Macci said: “Grand slams should 100 per cent go best two out of three. Almost all the players, if they voted, would agree.
“To keep 3 out of 5 with the physical nature of the game the human mind and body if that player is involved in four-hour matches back to back to back, is toast and will be a ghost.”
Macci is not the only notable figure to call for change – Billie Jean King did so in 2018.
Give us your most ICONIC tennis quotes!
Billie Jean King said men should play best-of-three sets
Billie Jean King, the founder of the Women’s Tennis Association [WTA], expressed her feelings regarding the use of five sets at men’s Grand Slam events during the launch of the WTA Finals in Singapore in 2018.
As reported by BBC Sport, King said men’s matches would sometimes last too long. She also suggested that women were open to the idea of playing five-set matches, but added that people want ‘quality over quantity’
King said: “You do not get paid in the entertainment business by how long you play for.”
She added: “Everyone keeps saying women don’t want to play five sets, but I don’t want the men playing five sets anymore – it takes too much out [of] them.”
