Is tennis on the verge of a real revolution? Craig Tiley, tournament director of the Australian Open, has brought at least one rule change into play that would have far-reaching consequences.
The Australian Open semi-final between Alexander Zverev and eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz will go down in history as one of the best matches ever played at the Grand Slam in Melbourne. The German and the world number one fought an epic battle for around 5:26 hours and over five sets, which Alcaraz ultimately won.
For comparison: Elena Rybakina, who won the women’s title, was on the court for a total of almost six hours in her three demanding and high-class matches from the quarterfinals to the final. The reason is obvious: While the men traditionally play three winning sets on the big stage, the women’s “only” two. A circumstance that, according to Tiley, should not remain set in stone.
Tiley suggested that the women should also play three winning sets in the future. Tiley is specifically aiming for this change Down Under for next year, but only the women’s games from the quarter-finals onwards will be affected.
Tennis icon Becker is impressed
“As a sport, we have to develop further,” the 64-year-old made clear before the men’s final on Sunday. In addition, studies show that spectator interest “increases over the course of a match,” the tournament director continued.
Speaking to the AAP news agency, Tiley was even clearer: “There should be best-of-five for women. We should look at the last matches – the quarter-finals, the semi-finals and the final – and introduce winning sets for the women. So we should put that on the agenda and talk to the players about it, because there are some matches in these final rounds that would have been fascinating in best-of-five mode. I don’t know if the players would want that, but it is something we need to consider with women.”
At least the German tennis icon Boris Becker explained to “Eurosport” that he believed Tiley’s initiative was a “good idea”. It is still unclear how the players feel about the idea.
