Sabalenka Rejects the Idea of Five-Set Matches in Women’s Tennis
World number one, Aryna Sabalenka, has expressed her stance against the implementation of five-set matches for women in Grand Slam tournaments, arguing potential injury risks. After her two-set victory in the first round of Wimbledon, Sabalenka commented on the matter. “Probably, physically I am one of the strongest, so maybe it would benefit me. But I think I’m not ready to play five sets,” she stated.Currently, in all women’s tournaments, matches are played in a best-of-three-sets format. In contrast, men compete in a best-of-five-sets format in Grand Slams and best-of-three in other tournaments. The conversation about this change occasionally arises, especially after prominent matches like the French Open final, where Carlos Alcaraz defeated Jannik Sinner in a five-set match that lasted more than five and a half hours. “For someone who’s watching, it’s incredible to see five hours of great tennis,” Sabalenka said. “But as a player, I don’t envy being there for five hours. I don’t know how many days they needed to recover after that crazy match.” Coco Gauff, world number two, also shared a similar opinion about the five-set format on Saturday. “It would favor me from a physical point of view. But I think it would be a big change for the circuit. I think it’s good to keep it as it is,” declared the American. In her recent match, Sabalenka defeated Carson Branstine (ranked 194) with a score of 6-1, 7-5, in a time of 73 minutes.I think it’s too much for the women’s body. I think we’re not ready for this amount of tennis. It would increase the number of injuries. So I think this is not something I would consider.
Aryna Sabalenka
