J
JRAJ1988
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https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/men-limited-three-set-tennis-131000435.html - (This thread will be taken down as soon as you can say "best of 3" if heated arguments arise, so try to keep it civil)
The British No 2 says she would like it to be “fair and the same” for men, who play best of five sets, and women, who play best of three, at Grand Slam tournaments.
“I would be really interested to see the men’s point of view and whether they actually want to play to five sets,” Watson told the Standard.
“It changes the dynamic of the game a lot and I feel like more recently, because the weather conditions are really tough in some of these Grand Slams, like Australia and New York, it gets really hot and you see far more retirements in the matches.
“To play five sets in those conditions is so, so physically tough for them. I would love it to be fair and the same.
“Just like with on-court coaching — the women have on-court coaching, but the men don’t. I don’t like that. If the men aren’t allowed to have it, I don’t want it either. I just want it to be the same for both. I don’t know why it should be different.”
Men play best of five sets at the four Grand Slam events — Wimbledon and the Australian, French and US Opens — as well as the Davis Cup. All other tournaments are best of three.
Watson was speaking ahead of the release of Battle Of The Sexes, a bigscreen dramatisation of the 1973 match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs. Riggs, then 55, a former world No 1, had claimed that he could still beat any female player but lost to King, then 29, against the backdrop of a debate about the difference in prize money for male and female players.
Wimbledon became the last Grand Slam tournament to offer equal money to male and female champions in 2007.
Watson defended its huge rewards — £2.2 million last year — saying: “On the money front, tennis is a lot tougher than people think it is. We have to pay for everything: our coach’s wage, our flights around the world, our hotels every single week. We may be earning a certain amount, but most of it goes back out.
“In sports, usually your team pays for your travel, your food — you don’t have to worry about anything apart from showing up and competing. So it’s a very expensive sport to play.”
Watson, a former British No 1, slipped down the rankings after contracting glandular fever in 2013. She won the Wimbledon mixed doubles title last year and is now back at No 2, behind Johanna Konta. She said she had made huge sacrifices in her life, having begun her career by joining the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida aged 12.
“Doing tennis professionally I have missed out on a lot of stuff that my friends do with at this age — going out with each other and having a good time,” she said.
“I don’t have a lot of time to socialise. That’s a big sacrifice. Even just seeing my friends and family is something I’ve missed out on so much.”
Despite having many years left as a professional, she has thought about her post-tennis career and could follow in the footsteps of former footballer Dion Dublin, who has joined BBC1 property show Homes Under The Hammer. She said: “Renovating and flipping properties is something I am very interested in and something I would like to get into.”
The British No 2 says she would like it to be “fair and the same” for men, who play best of five sets, and women, who play best of three, at Grand Slam tournaments.
“I would be really interested to see the men’s point of view and whether they actually want to play to five sets,” Watson told the Standard.
“It changes the dynamic of the game a lot and I feel like more recently, because the weather conditions are really tough in some of these Grand Slams, like Australia and New York, it gets really hot and you see far more retirements in the matches.
“To play five sets in those conditions is so, so physically tough for them. I would love it to be fair and the same.
“Just like with on-court coaching — the women have on-court coaching, but the men don’t. I don’t like that. If the men aren’t allowed to have it, I don’t want it either. I just want it to be the same for both. I don’t know why it should be different.”
Men play best of five sets at the four Grand Slam events — Wimbledon and the Australian, French and US Opens — as well as the Davis Cup. All other tournaments are best of three.
Watson was speaking ahead of the release of Battle Of The Sexes, a bigscreen dramatisation of the 1973 match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs. Riggs, then 55, a former world No 1, had claimed that he could still beat any female player but lost to King, then 29, against the backdrop of a debate about the difference in prize money for male and female players.
Wimbledon became the last Grand Slam tournament to offer equal money to male and female champions in 2007.
Watson defended its huge rewards — £2.2 million last year — saying: “On the money front, tennis is a lot tougher than people think it is. We have to pay for everything: our coach’s wage, our flights around the world, our hotels every single week. We may be earning a certain amount, but most of it goes back out.
“In sports, usually your team pays for your travel, your food — you don’t have to worry about anything apart from showing up and competing. So it’s a very expensive sport to play.”
Watson, a former British No 1, slipped down the rankings after contracting glandular fever in 2013. She won the Wimbledon mixed doubles title last year and is now back at No 2, behind Johanna Konta. She said she had made huge sacrifices in her life, having begun her career by joining the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida aged 12.
“Doing tennis professionally I have missed out on a lot of stuff that my friends do with at this age — going out with each other and having a good time,” she said.
“I don’t have a lot of time to socialise. That’s a big sacrifice. Even just seeing my friends and family is something I’ve missed out on so much.”
Despite having many years left as a professional, she has thought about her post-tennis career and could follow in the footsteps of former footballer Dion Dublin, who has joined BBC1 property show Homes Under The Hammer. She said: “Renovating and flipping properties is something I am very interested in and something I would like to get into.”
. Nope ain't happening. Be too many upsets.
