TOP-RANKED Aryna Sabalenka has voiced her opposition to women’s tennis adopting a best-of-five-set format at Grand Slam tournaments, citing concerns about increased injury risks.
The five-set format is currently exclusive to men’s singles matches at majors.
“Probably physically I’m one of the strongest ones, so maybe it would benefit me. But I think I’m not ready to play five sets,” Sabalenka stated after her two-set first-round victory at Wimbledon on Monday (Tuesday, July 1, 2025, PH time). “I think it’s too much on the woman’s body. I think we’re not ready for this amount of tennis. I think it would increase the amount of injuries. So I think this is not something I would consider.”
Women’s singles matches across all tournaments, including Grand Slams, adhere to a best-of-three-set format. Men, however, play best-of-five sets at Grand Slams and best-of-three elsewhere.
While there isn’t a widespread push for this change, it occasionally sparks discussion, particularly regarding the later stages of major tournaments.
Sabalenka was specifically asked about the recent five-and-a-half-hour French Open final where Carlos Alcaraz defeated Jannik Sinner.
“For someone watching, it’s amazing to see five hours of great tennis,” she remarked. “But I’m not really jealous to stay there for five hours as a player. I don’t know how many days they needed to recover after that crazy match.”
World No. 2 Coco Gauff echoed similar sentiments on Saturday, saying, “It would favor me just from a physicality standpoint. But I do think it would kind of be a big change for the tour. I think it would be fine just keeping it like how it is.”
Sabalenka secured her first-round win at Wimbledon on Monday, defeating 194th-ranked Carson Branstine 6-1, 7-5 in 73 minutes. / From the wires