Australian Open chief Craig Tiley has confirmed that he wants to introduce best-of-five set matches to the Grand Slam.
Female stars have always played best-of-three set matches at Grand Slams and WTA Tour events, aside from the final of the WTA Finals between 1984 to 1998.
The move has often been touted in recent years, although there has been some pushback from top stars, with world number one Sabalenka saying she was ‘not ready’ for five set matches at Wimbledon last year.
Nevertheless, Tiley has said he wants to introduce the change after watching the women’s draw at this year’s event.
Why Craig Tiley wants to introduce best of five sets for women at the Australian Open
Much like every other tennis fan and pundit, Tiley was blown away by the quality of the two men’s semi-finals at the Australian Open.
Both Novak Djokovic vs Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz vs Alexander Zverev went the distance in one of the greatest days of tennis at a Grand Slam in the history of the sport.
After the quality of the two men’s matches, Tiley believes the women could not compete while playing best of three sets.
Do you think women should play best-of-five set matches?
He said: “I’m still getting chills just thinking about [the 2 men’s semi-finals], and then you can’t replicate that final last night on the women’s side. It was unbelievable.
“One of the things I’ve been saying now is that I think there should be three out of five sets for women. We should look at the last few matches – quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final – and make the women’s side three out of five.”
Tiley believes the move could come as soon as next year and he’s announced plans to consult with the WTA Tour’s stars.
“Certainly, if we’re going to do it and we think it’s the right thing, we’ll definitely go in 2027. So there’s nothing in the rules stopping that from happening, but we need to do it with really deep consultation with the players.”
Why Laura Robson believes best of five sets should be introduced
Best-of-five set matches for female stars has become a major debate over the last few years, and former pro-turned-pundit Laura Robson is strongly in favour of the change.
Speaking at the Australian Open in 2023, Robson said: “I think women absolutely could play best of five sets.
“I think it’s a logistical nightmare for any tournament director to try and plan two best of five tournaments.
Would people watch more or less tennis if the best-of-five format was scrapped?
“I don’t see why we don’t play best of five from quarter-finals onwards. Over the last few years, with the nerves of some playing their first finals, it would help them to have another set to work with.
“If they just had more time out there, you can tell that they’d recover further into the match. I know opinion is split, but I think they can do it.”
Best-of-five sets could make the women’s draw more competitive, but it is a tightrope to navigate if players are not interested in the change.
