Live: Tennis Australia wants women's five-setters after thrilling Australian Open final
As Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz prepare for their men's singles final, Tennis Australia chief executive Craig Tiley says he wants the big women's Australian Open matches to be played over five sets. Follow live.
Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina played out a gripping women's singles final over two hours and 18 minutes last night, but Tennis Australia chief executive Craig Tiley wants more.
Tiley says he wants the women's games at the pointy end of the Australian Open from next year in the hopes of replicating the drama of a glorious Friday featuring 10 hours of men's semifinal action.
"You can't replicate that [men's] semifinal day. That was amazing," Tiley told AAP.
"I'm still getting chills just thinking about it, and then you can't replicate that final last night on the women's side. It was unbelievable. One of the things I've been saying now is that I think there should be three out of five sets for women.
"We should look at the last few matches — the quarters and the semis and the finals — and make the women's side three out of five."
He said the AO could take it upon themselves to institute it completely separate from the other grand slam tournaments and the WTA.
"Certainly if we're going to do it and we think it's the right thing, we'll definitely go in 2027," he said.
"So there's nothing in the rules stopping that from happening, but we need to do it with really deep consultation with the players."
The idea has had the backing of the likes of Serena Williams in the past.
