Alexis Ohanian, Serena Williams’ husband, has defended women’s tennis against accusations that it is less engrossing than the men’s game. Entrepreneur Ohanian is a long-standing supporter of women’s sport in general, and it is no surprise that he has spoken out on behalf of female tennis given his wife’s exalted status in the game.
Ohanian and Williams have put their money where their mouth is in support of women’s sport. In 2014, Ohanian created the Athlos NYC track meet, offering a $60,000 first prize to female athletes, prize money that outstripped track and field’s highest-paying competitions, including the Olympics and the Diamond League. The couple is also part-owners of Angel City FC, the US soccer team.
Reddit-founder Ohanian was responding to the X account of Juan Ignacio, who suggested that women’s tennis should revert to a five-set format if it was to capture the same attention as the men’s game. Ohanian took a different view, arguing that tension is lost over the longer format, and that the ladies’ shorter game is more dramatic. He wrote on X:
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"As someone who discovered tennis through the women’s game, I fell in love with the drama of every point mattering. When I finally watched a men’s match, I was confused. Five sets? It made the early games feel like warm-up acts instead of high-stakes battle. The tension was diluted, not heightened."
Alexis Ohanian's view is not universally shared. The day before he made his comments, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner played an epic five-set match in the French Open final, featuring several twists and turns that had the crowd at Roland Garros screaming for more.
Roland Garros Tournament Director Amelie Mauresmo has advocated for women to play five sets
In 2023, Amelie Mauresmo, the two-time Major winner and current Tournament Director at Roland Garros, said she supported the move to five sets for women. Interviewed by the Telegraph.co.uk, Mauresmo contradicted Alexis Ohanian's view, stating:
"What I’ve always thought, and this was also as a player, I would love to play a grand-slam final best-of-five or how it was at the year-end WTA championships," she said. "That is something that I would have really loved, and it’s definitely something that I would really think about, if that would add something to women’s tennis"
There is still some disparity in women's and men's prize money at some competitions, which could be addressed by matching the length of games. However, at the Majors, the prizemoney for men and women has been the same since 2007, and there does not appear to be any appetite to alter the three-set format for women.
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