Should women play best of 5 sets in tennis majors?

[Rylant]

For the tennis fans out there. I am watching the awesome match between Halep and Davis which is now 13-12 in the third set for Davis (by the way, I love that the Australian Open does not have a tie break in the final set).

So, it is something I have wondered for a long time. Should women play best of 5 set matches? Right now and for many years now, women earn the same amount as the men in all tennis majors (and frankly, they should make the same as the men, especially considering viewership is relatively close between men and women matches). They still have ridiculous dress codes for women in tennis.

Personally, I want the women to play the same 5 sets that men do, because I think having them play the best of 3 supports the thought that women are weaker, or presents the image that we do not want women sweaty like the men. In the age of demanding equality, I think we should have it the same across the board. Thoughts?

Rylant

[pmorrow]

Before we argue about 5 versus 3 sets, it would be very important to know who actually controls that decision. Is it the WTA? Do the majors enforce it against the will of the players? I feel if moving to 5 sets was a popular idea, it would/should be adopted.

[butch]

if thats what they want , sure .

maybe start with the semis and finals being best of 5

[ericdaoust]

They can play best of 7 if they want

[lucafen4]

or should the men be playing best of 3?

[ericdaoust]

I'm sure we'll have a productive chat about this on a hockey forum...

[als_revenge]

Speaking just as a fan, I hope they do not move to five sets. I enjoy watching tennis from time to time and I much prefer watching women's tennis (and this has been true for 15 or 20 years). I find men's tennis to be boring and 5 sets to be painful to sit through. I have no data to prove this, but it just seems like men's tennis produces fewer rallies, it's more smash and done. I miss the days of wooden rackets and men's tennis from the 1980s...

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the women's game right now, from my perspective as a fan. I'd probably watch less of the women's game if it moved to 5 sets. That would feel like watching a ten hour soccer game.

[Rylant]

Speaking just as a fan, I hope they do not move to five sets. I enjoy watching tennis from time to time and I much prefer watching women's tennis (and this has been true for 15 or 20 years). I find men's tennis to be boring and 5 sets to be painful to sit through. I have no data to prove this, but it just seems like men's tennis produces fewer rallies, it's more smash and done. I miss the days of wooden rackets and men's tennis from the 1980s...

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the women's game right now, from my perspective as a fan. I'd probably watch less of the women's game if it moved to 5 sets. That would feel like watching a ten hour soccer game.

I do understand what you are saying. There are a couple of reasons why I think that the women need to move to 5 sets (Rather than the men moving to 3 sets). Firstly, it would give the women game credibility and put them on a level playing field with the men. Nobody would be able to say "Women only play the best of 3 because they are weaker than men..." anymore (Sadly, that is something that is spoken fairly often on the subject). Of course, they would have to change how they train, but I fully believe they are more than capable of doing it. Secondly, it would bring some stability to the women's rankings, which has always been wildly inconsistent. It would be harder for somebody who isn't as good to beat a better player in 5 sets, than would be to beat them in 3 sets, which is something that I think the women's game desperately needs. As well, best of 5 set matches allow for more momentum swings, huge comebacks, collapses and epic marathons. Women are being denied the opportunity to be in matches like that right now.

Rylant

[Rylant]

I'm sure we'll have a productive chat about this on a hockey forum...

Sorry, are you opposed to talking about tennis in the Lounge section of this forum? Tennis is something that I am passionate about, and I know that others on this forum also enjoy tennis. I have seen stranger things discussed in this forum...

Rylant

[als_revenge]

I do understand what you are saying. There are a couple of reasons why I think that the women need to move to 5 sets (Rather than the men moving to 3 sets). Firstly, it would give the women game credibility and put them on a level playing field with the men. Nobody would be able to say "Women only play the best of 3 because they are weaker than men..." anymore (Sadly, that is something that is spoken fairly often on the subject). Of course, they would have to change how they train, but I fully believe they are more than capable of doing it. Secondly, it would bring some stability to the women's rankings, which has always been wildly inconsistent. It would be harder for somebody who isn't as good to beat a better player in 5 sets, than would be to beat them in 3 sets, which is something that I think the women's game desperately needs. As well, best of 5 set matches allow for more momentum swings, huge comebacks, collapses and epic marathons. Women are being denied the opportunity to be in matches like that right now.

Rylant

I disagree with pretty much all of this

- As stated, I find women's tennis more entertaining than men's tennis. Part of that has to do with the fact that each set is more important in a best of three. (And part of it is because I find there are better rallies).

- The fact that there is more opportunity for upsets is a pro, in my mind. If you want to ensure the "best are always at the top", you could make each match the best of 10,000 sets. That would be great since it would be very hard for any upsets. (We could also make hockey games 10,000 periods, to also bring stability to the standings). Let's face it, nobody wants to see an upset or cheer for an underdog.

- Anyone who thinks women can't play 5 sets is an idiot and not worth having a discussion with. Just because they can do it, it doesn't mean it will make the game any more exciting (to me).

I can't think of another sport where I enjoy watching the women's game over the men's game. So my attitude is, why fix what's not broken?

[ericdaoust]

Sorry, are you opposed to talking about tennis in the Lounge section of this forum? Tennis is something that I am passionate about, and I know that others on this forum also enjoy tennis. I have seen stranger things discussed in this forum...

Rylant

Never said I had a problem with it. No need to jump to conclusions.

Eric

[Rylant]

Never said I had a problem with it. No need to jump to conclusions.

I actually didn't jump to conclusions; I flat out asked you if you were opposed to this :-)

Rylant

[Rylant]

I disagree with pretty much all of this

- As stated, I find women's tennis more entertaining than men's tennis. Part of that has to do with the fact that each set is more important in a best of three. (And part of it is because I find there are better rallies).

- The fact that there is more opportunity for upsets is a pro, in my mind. If you want to ensure the "best are always at the top", you could make each match the best of 10,000 sets. That would be great since it would be very hard for any upsets. (We could also make hockey games 10,000 periods, to also bring stability to the standings). Let's face it, nobody wants to see an upset or cheer for an underdog.

- Anyone who thinks women can't play 5 sets is an idiot and not worth having a discussion with. Just because they can do it, it doesn't mean it will make the game any more exciting (to me).

I can't think of another sport where I enjoy watching the women's game over the men's game. So my attitude is, why fix what's not broken?

Again, I do understand this. I think a best of 3 sets does tend to be more appealing to casual fans. As far as asking why fix what isn't broken, I guess my opinion is that is is broken. The biggest reason, is that there is a message being sent, whether intentional or not, that it is ok to treat women differently than men. I can't think of any other sport in the world, where women have a different set of rules than men do. Women don't run 80m instead of 100m at the Olympics. The net is the same height in basketball; they play 20 minute periods in hockey; they play until the first team scores 25 points in volleyball. To me, it's important to keep everything equal. Even if you don't think that women play a best of 3 set because they are "lesser" than men, deep down, people on a regular basis ask themselves "Why do women only play 3 sets while the men play 5?" The fact is, that there isn't a really good answer to that question. And as long as that question goes unanswered, the message is being sent that men and women are not equal.

Rylant

[donions]

or should the men be playing best of 3?

I'm with this idea. Not that I watch much Tennis...

[hockeymanG23]

Again, I do understand this. I think a best of 3 sets does tend to be more appealing to casual fans. As far as asking why fix what isn't broken, I guess my opinion is that is is broken. The biggest reason, is that there is a message being sent, whether intentional or not, that it is ok to treat women differently than men. I can't think of any other sport in the world, where women have a different set of rules than men do. Women don't run 80m instead of 100m at the Olympics. The net is the same height in basketball; they play 20 minute periods in hockey; they play until the first team scores 25 points in volleyball. To me, it's important to keep everything equal. Even if you don't think that women play a best of 3 set because they are "lesser" than men, deep down, people on a regular basis ask themselves "Why do women only play 3 sets while the men play 5?" The fact is, that there isn't a really good answer to that question. And as long as that question goes unanswered, the message is being sent that men and women are not equal.

Rylant

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