Women Should Play Best of 5 Sets in Majors

[Tchocky]

I think women should have to play best of 5 sets in the major tournaments. When you're playing for over a million dollars...shouldn't you have to win another set to win the title? The Grand Slam events are too special to just have another best of 3 sets match. The men have to play best of 5 sets in every round of every Grand Slam event and they have to play best of 5 sets in a Master Series final. What do you think? Women are not allowed to vote.

 

[Rhino]

Sure why not. They whine about equal prize money, why not equal court-time. 5 sets is more exciting too.

 

[stoneagle]

Sure why not. They whine about equal prize money, why not equal court-time. 5 sets is more exciting too.

or best of five in the finals,

 

[FED-EX]

matches would be much boring...

 

[LowProfile]

In every round of a grand slam? That kills most men. Women would be absolutely fried. Remember that US Open semifinal between Henin and Capriati a few years back? It was a tough three sets but Henin literally had no legs and IV's in every limb after that match. Can you imagine what five sets would be like?

Can you see Davenport and Sharapova slugging it out for five sets like Scrichapan and Sanguinetti at the US Open last year? I certainly cannot. A major final perhaps but nothing before that.

 

[superman1]

5 sets is way too much. It's even hard to imagine how the men can stand it. They should consider it for Grand Slam Finals, or the Master's Final, but that's it.

 

[lucky leprechaun]

I vote no. Who the heck wants to see a best out of five women's match. They hit way more baseline rallies than men and it gets tedious after a while. Frankly I get tired of seeing two male clay ballers duking it out at roland garros. Maybe for wimbledon though. If there's going to be five set women's matches then wimbledon should be the only consideration.

 

[arosen]

Tchocky, I agree with you in principle, same work for same pay and all that, but in reality it would get ugly quickly. Women are nowhere near as fit ( with a couple of notable exceptions), so the match would often deteriorate to 3.5 "who's going to moonball better" kind of tennis. So unless they are made to play in bikinis, no, lets keep it the way it is.

 

[gaspard]

In every round of a grand slam? That kills most men. Women would be absolutely fried. Remember that US Open semifinal between Henin and Capriati a few years back? It was a tough three sets but Henin literally had no legs and IV's in every limb after that match. Can you imagine what five sets would be like?

Can you see Davenport and Sharapova slugging it out for five sets like Scrichapan and Sanguinetti at the US Open last year? I certainly cannot. A major final perhaps but nothing before that.

I think women are capable of it. We are talking about endurance and stamina here. I mean, they don't reduce the distance of a marathon or other endurance events for women. Have you seen the women who do triathlons? They are ultra fit and easily capable of meeting the requirements of that event. Introducing best of five set matches would force some of the women to get fitter and become better athletes than they are now. It would totally transform the sport.

Although the above looks like I am in favour of it, I am not. For me, ladies matches are long enough. Not being sexist or anything, but I don't really enjoy watching the women play, one or two players maybe, but that's about it. I think 5 sets would detract from the entertainment value of the womens game . However, it would not be too bad if they introduced it for Grand Slam finals. I find that some finals finish a tad too quickly to justify the money that is paid to see them. It would also give greater legitimacy to the argument that women should get equal pay, because at the moment they do significantly less hours than men at some of the Grand Slams, for the same prize money. There was an interesting statistic one year at the Aussie open when Becker's first round match had taken longer than all of Steffi Graf's on court time , from the first round to the completion of the final.

Gaspard

 

[Tchocky]

You guys are misreading my statement. Best of 5 sets only in major finals, not every round...just the final.

 

[La Bomba]

That would be one boring final.

 

[vive le beau jeu !]

That would be one boring final.

the best-of-5 final of the masters was a good idea...
why did they change it ?

 

[jings]

The funniest comment I've seen on this was Henman's interview post Safin match at IW. He and Safin were in the changing room waiting for the Mirza match I think to finish and apparently Safin was "dissin"" the girls badly. I think Marat would have them play one set whatever and get them off court in double quick time!

 

[mdhubert]

For Henin I think a best of 5 games match would be better...

 

[crazylevity]

Well I don't see why they can't. Me and my friend (3.5 and 4.0) respectively, play best of 5 sets each time we play. And we only have a short break in between sets, not in between games. Granted we aren't playing at that kind of intensity, but I assure you it's not moonballing either.

 

[slice bh compliment]

What? 3 out of 5?
Equal prize money, fine. But I thought the goal was to have LESS women's tennis.

Funny guy, but it is not really Marat's idea to have the WTA play a one set, no-ad format. Half the men's tour feels this way.

 

[skip1969]

i'm not sure the women would even want to play a best-of-five final, even just four or five times a year. they tried it at the year-end championships a while back. i'm not sure if stamina was the main reason they chucked it, but maybe it just didn't add the kind of instant drama they were looking for. after all, how many disappointing fifth sets have we seen in men's matches over the years. or boring five-setters, even. just cos they're out there longer doesn't necessarily translate into better or more interesting tennis.

 

[uNIVERSE mAN]

it's too long already, make it a one set match and get the crap off the tv as quickly as possible.

 

[jhhachamp]

In every round of a grand slam? That kills most men. Women would be absolutely fried.

Men and women run the same distance for the marathon. It probably is pretty damn tiring for most men, but the women still manage to follow the same format.

 

[jhhachamp]

I think women are capable of it. We are talking about endurance and stamina here. I mean, they don't reduce the distance of a marathon or other endurance events for women. Have you seen the women who do triathlons? They are ultra fit and easily capable of meeting the requirements of that event. Introducing best of five set matches would force some of the women to get fitter and become better athletes than they are now. It would totally transform the sport.

Good post, this is exactly what I was thinking, but posted before reading this.

 

[Gogo Dodo]

It may be too much for some women. Maybe amateurs messing around could handle it, but in a PRO match, it is much MORE INTENSE! Beyond that, I have No comment.

 

[Gogo Dodo]

Remember the Aussie Open folks, how some men and women had to retire because the HEAT was too INTENSE? .....Well my concern would be of just that, the exhaustion (Not neceassrily from the extremely hot temperature in the AIR, but from within the body.)

 

[jsnj]

If I were a pro woman tennis player, I'd be embarrassed to claim the right to equal prize money as the men. First of all, they don't have to put in the same amount of time because they never play 3 of 5. And because of that you'll always get people saying "oh those poor women folk can't handle it". But in fairness, I've seen men cramp and get tired in 3 sets on many occassions, so it's more of a mental thing IMO. If women knew they had to do it, they'd prepare for it. But more importantly, athletes are paid as entertainers, not based upon hourly wages, so quantity is irrelevant when it comes to money. The fact is, the WTA product doesn't generate nearly as much revenue as the ATP, so why would they expect to be paid the same? But as far as personal preference, I agree with a former poster that 3 of 5 in slam finals is a good idea. I like the idea of blood & guts for the final. You give everything you have that last day of the tournament and you can't rely just on a fast start.

 

[tonysk83]

I think everything should be best of 3 sets for everything across the board, I think 5 sets are too long for everyone.

 

[bebots]

I remember one best of 5 womens match that actually went 5 sets. Graf Vs. Hingis in a year end championship at Madison Sq Garden. Graf won, and two of the three sets she won were 6-0. It was '96, 6-3 4-6 6-0 4-6 6-0. Not the greatest match between the two. Hingis cramped badly in the middle of a game and had to lie down on the court. But in '99 Graf beat Hingis in the finals of the French in 3 sets of great tennis.

Maybe at the AO, FO and Wimbledon but...WHY at the US Open are matches scheduled so players have a day off between rounds, except between the semis and final? Theoretically the most competitive rounds and those matches are played back to back days? I know it's for ratings but it's a guaranteed sub-par/fatigued final.

The 2 women would have to be supremely fit to play a high quality best of 5 final.

 

[Joe Average]

... or women would have to learn to play shorter points, shorter rallies, like the men. I think of all the thrilling men's 5-setters, if they were best two of three, would just be boring straight setters. Remember the final Sampras-Agassi match at the US Open? It would have been over in two sets. Remember the first Hewitt-Blake match ... the "you tell me the similiarities" one where Blake threw up? You don't run a mile the same way you sprint 100 meters.

 

[superman1]

Men play shorter points usually, so it's easier on them. I watched a few points of Sharapova and Myskina and couldn't figure out how each point was going to end. Didn't seem like anyone could hit a winner until 20 balls had been hit, so most points were likely to end on error. Myskina even said once that she didn't know how to win points anymore. All she can do is return the damn ball back nice and clean to be smacked again. People like Mauresmo and Henin would no doubt be able to handle 5 sets, but that's about it.

 

[nickybol]

When I mentioned the same to Martina Hingis a few years ago she said I was mad. She didn't think it was a good idea, but women are not fit enough, she had played a best-of-five 2 or 3 times and it killed her.

 

[tennisadict]

or best of five in the finals,

when are they starting?????