Why can't women play best of 5 sets in GS and Davis Cup?

L

looseleftie

Rookie
Hello, I am not trying to make something out of this, or enter into equality issues, or equality in terms of prize money here. But can't think why they cannot play best out of 5.. Just watching the Davis Cup, and this event and the other 4 GS's are like the pinnacle of our Sport.. So why do women only do the best of 3??

Not trying to be offensive, or argumentative here.. Would love an insight into this..The Sport is a game of skill and attritiion, and constant swings in relation to who has the upper hand in any game/set... It kind of reminds me of soccer in the Olympics?? Why , it's basically an under 23 tournament.. It is not the highest pinnacle/level of the sport. Our Grand Slams and Davis Cup are the biggest or highest level of our Sport, can anyone explain why women play best out of 3.:confused:

Love your thoughts on this.
 
jones101

jones101

Hall of Fame
They've never been asked to.

Also, having to schedule another 2 hours+ potentiallty would throw the schedule way off. They would need 4 days to get through the first round alone.
 
tennisMVP

tennisMVP

Banned
Hingis vs Graf 5-setter proved women should never play 5 sets. By the 5th set, Hingis was laying down, Graf was cramping bad. I mean, Graf? Graf is maybe the most fine-tuned athlete in WTA history. If she can't handle it, what hope do the rest have? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tE1WOiUeQDc
1996chase.jpg
 
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A

als47

Rookie
They could if they trained to, they just don't have to, so they don't.

Of course, I'm one who's of the opinion that all tennis should be 3 sets... I think the longer a match stretches on, the more the outcome starts to depend on unpredictable factors (changes in the weather and light, injuries, etc) rather than who's actually the superior player.
 
Mustard

Mustard

Bionic Poster
I've been saying the same for years. The majors are the biggest tournaments in tennis and should be best of 5 sets.
 
I

InspectorRacquet

Semi-Pro
als47 said:
Of course, I'm one who's of the opinion that all tennis should be 3 sets... I think the longer a match stretches on, the more the outcome starts to depend on unpredictable factors (changes in the weather and light, injuries, etc) rather than who's actually the superior player.
Click to expand...

I agree in that five set matches tend to have unpredictable and irreversible events occur, such as the inclement weather (USO 2012) and fading light (FO 2012). I personally like the idea of five set grand slams, but not for women.

Almost every grand slam I watch for women's tennis, the match always seems to go the distance, because very few women have an attacking game. If the women played to five, there would be no live competition left for the finals and one would just bagel the other.
 
Warriorroger

Warriorroger

Hall of Fame
tennisMVP said:
Hingis vs Graf 5-setter proved women should never play 5 sets. By the 5th set, Hingis was laying down, Graf was cramping bad. I mean, Graf? Graf is maybe the most fine-tuned athlete in WTA history. If she can't handle it, what hope do the rest have? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tE1WOiUeQDc
1996chase.jpg
Click to expand...

In her and Hingis' defence, this was a year ending event, Graf had been in 4 grandslam finals and many other tournaments. Had both played this format earlier, they would have been fine. In today's tennis, three sets isn't much to look at in women's tennis, let alone 5. Can you imagine listening to Sharapova vs Azarenka for 5 sets?
 
MichaelNadal

MichaelNadal

Bionic Poster
I definitely don't think they should play 5. When women play a competitive 3 setter im sure to them it feels about how a 5 setter feels for a guy.
 
marpiw

marpiw

Semi-Pro
looseleftie said:
Hello, I am not trying to make something out of this, or enter into equality issues, or equality in terms of prize money here. But can't think why they cannot play best out of 5.. Just watching the Davis Cup, and this event and the other 4 GS's are like the pinnacle of our Sport.. So why do women only do the best of 3??

Not trying to be offensive, or argumentative here.. Would love an insight into this..The Sport is a game of skill and attritiion, and constant swings in relation to who has the upper hand in any game/set... It kind of reminds me of soccer in the Olympics?? Why , it's basically an under 23 tournament.. It is not the highest pinnacle/level of the sport. Our Grand Slams and Davis Cup are the biggest or highest level of our Sport, can anyone explain why women play best out of 3.:confused:

Love your thoughts on this.
Click to expand...
I think that playing 3 sets is enough to demonstrate who is the superior player so nobody must play 5 setters anymore its really boring...
Playing a 5 setter equals to playing a three hour soccer game,a ten setter basketball game or a Formula 1 race of 700 kilometers...
Enough is enough...and 3 sets is enough...
 
B

bluetrain4

G.O.A.T.
In theory, they can, but it's just never really been an issue.

And now, as others have stated, with modern TV schedules, etc., it would throw scheduling way off.

I remember when the women's YEC was best of five for a few years, and Seles defeated Sabaini in 5 sets, and Graf defeated Sabatini if 4 sets. Good matches.
 
Warriorroger

Warriorroger

Hall of Fame
bluetrain4 said:
In theory, they can, but it's just never really been an issue.

And now, as others have stated, with modern TV schedules, etc., it would throw scheduling way off.

I remember when the women's YEC was best of five for a few years, and Seles defeated Sabaini in 5 sets, and Graf defeated Sabatini if 4 sets. Good matches.
Click to expand...

I agree, those were great matches, but that was a time when the woman knew how to construct points and combine power with precision and angles. Ofcourse today's rackets contribute a lot to the mindless power and that todays woman are generally taller and bigger than the previous.
 
Hood_Man

Hood_Man

G.O.A.T.
The previous two Ladies US Open finals were cut short I feel. Last years final was a very enjoyable aggressive performance which I would have loved to see go on for another half hour, or even more if Serena was able to come back from 2-0 down to push to a 5th set.

And then there was this year's final where Azarenka did come back from a set down, and although she choked when she served for the match in the 3rd I think she could have carried on some of that form in a 4th set if she'd still lost the 3rd.

This year's ladies final was perhaps more dramatic than the men's, because of the changes in momentum and the comebacks from behind and dangerous situations etc, but it's the men's final that will really be remembered. Not just because it was Murray's first, but also because it was 5 hours long. If it was best of 3 we wouldn't have had the drama of the 3rd, 4th and 5th sets, or to put it another way, the real drama of the match!

I think the reason is they supposedly can't physically do it, but I don't believe that. Sam Stosur could go to 5 sets for example, she's built like a gym instructor.
 
pc1

pc1

G.O.A.T.
Mustard said:
Men and women can both run marathons, and they can both play best of 5 sets in majors.
Click to expand...

As a tennis junkie I would love it. It would be great to see some female player come back from two sets down to win a match.
 
D

dangalak

Banned
Because they are women, mentally and physically weak princesses who for some reason deserve equal prize money despite that fact.

In all seriousness, supposedly, women can run the full 40.125 m during a marathon, the same distance as the men, they can run triathlons, but they can't play best of 5 against OTHER women, with much smaller balls. :lol:

And the absolute biggest joke in this is the fact that the opponents of this ******** are the ones who are sexist.
 
tennisMVP

tennisMVP

Banned
Mustard said:
Men and women can both run marathons, and they can both play best of 5 sets in majors.
Click to expand...

But what if a woman was told she had to run the marathon in the same time-span as the man? That's what the 5 set tennis match would ask. Whereas running marathons don't have a time limit, so the women can take their time to complete it.
 
D

dangalak

Banned
tennisMVP said:
But what if a woman was told she had to run the marathon in the same time-span as the man? That's what the 5 set tennis match would ask. Whereas running marathons don't have a time limit, so the women can take their time to complete it.
Click to expand...

Your IQ must be in the single didgits. :lol:

Women competing against MEN would be like asking them to run the same times. Nay, women compating against men with the same results as other men would be like them being forced to run the same times.

How in the flying **** is forcing women to compete the same format like asking them to perform the same athletic feats?

Moreover, the comparison is made, because marathons are without a doubt tougher to complete than playing best of 5 sets. It is downright ******** to claim that women cannot play BO5 even though we have seen them do much better than that.

Your lack of comprehension is downright PAINFUL.
 
tennisMVP

tennisMVP

Banned
Women struggle to play marathon 3-setters, especially at the Australian Open where the heat is a factor. Anyone who recommends 5 sets for a woman is crazy. Remember that Hingis/Capriati AO final where Hingis was told by a doctor to use a wheelchair to come out of the tunnel for the 3rd set? Hingis was seen falling against the walls.
 
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G

Gizo

Legend
I think that many of the modern day WTA players would struggle to hand best of 5 set matches.

Thanks to modern day racket technology there is less emphasis on athleticism and conditioning in women's tennis, and more on power. Improvements in racket technology have had a much bigger impact on the women's game than the men's in my opinion.

Many of the active female players can really crush the ball now, and hit winners more effortlessly. However many of them tire so easily.

Not only were the female tennis players of the 80s and 90s generally in better shape than the current group, but female football/soccer, basketball, volleyball players etc also generally have much better conditioning than female tennis players nowadays.
 
D

dangalak

Banned
tennisMVP said:
Women struggle to play marathon 3-setters, especially at the Australian Open where the heat is a factor. Anyone who recommends 5 sets for a woman is crazy. Remember that Hingis/Capriati AO final where Hingis was told by a doctor to use a wheelchair to come out of the tunnel for the 3rd set? Hingis was seen falling against the walls.
Click to expand...

Well then they need to adapt. There are women capable of playing best of 5 sets. If the rule was changed, the game would evolve and most top players would be the ones who are fit enough to compete.
 
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