Former World No. 1 Andy Roddick recently shared his opinion when a fan inquired if women’s Grand Slam matches should adopt a best-of-five sets format from the quarterfinals onwards. Currently, in Grand Slams matches, men play best-of-five matches while women play best-of-three.
This discussion often arises in conversations surrounding equal pay, gender equality, and competitive fairness within the sport. However, Roddick highlighted several logistical, biological, and structural challenges that would arise if such a change were implemented.
In the latest episode on his show Served with Andy Roddick, the former U.S. Open champion said:
“That buzz ain’t going anywhere. That’s just chatter. There are things that women go through—and most likely a lot of them are going through at some point over the course of a two-week event—that men don’t have to go through. That gets left out of every argument, and rolling the dice on when that happens is insane.”
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Here, Roddick might be hinting at the female's menstrual issues. He also criticized changing the match format partway through a tournament. He said:
"I don’t like starting a tournament in one format and finishing it in another format. You get to the final and they go, ‘Oh, well, I know you’ve had a long week, but here, let’s play seven hours before we go to a Grand Slam.’ That doesn’t define the best players."
"I think it completely changes the dynamic of what has already been accomplished in that slam up until that point," he added.
Andy Roddick's former competitors share their opinion on best-of-five proposal for women's Grand Slam matches
Andy Roddick isn't the only one who has spoken on the idea of introducing five-set matches in women's matches. His former rival and tennis legend, Andy Murray, also shared his opinion regarding the same. While speaking to the New York Times about the debate, the Britain tennis star said:
"It isn’t about it being inferior. As I see them, they’re two different sports. It’s just because we play five sets. I’m not saying the men work harder than the women, but if you have to train to play five sets, it’s a longer distance. It’s like someone training to be a 400-meter runner and someone training to be a 600-meter runner. I think the women should play best-of-five sets."
"[Maybe] it doesn’t have to be from the first rounds," he added. "I think either the men go three sets or the women go five sets. I think that’s more what the guys tend to complain about, rather than the equal prize money itself."
Women's tennis legend Martina Navratilova has also pushed to introduce best-of-five set matches, saying women can also handle the intensity just like men. She found support from fellow women stars like former Grand Slam winner Amélie Mauresmo and former Wimbledon champion Amélie Mauresmo.
