Could women’s tennis move to matches lasting longer than four hours? This is the wish of Craig Tiley, director of the Australian Open, who opened the door to winning three-set matches in the women’s draw, from 2027.
The measure, which would only take effect from the quarter-finals, would serve as a revolution. No women’s match has been played in these conditions since the Masters final in 1998. The end-of-season tournament had actually taken this gamble in 1984, before returning to two winning sets at the request of the players.
No need to wait for other tournaments
“This is a subject that we should put on the agenda and that we should talk to the players about,” says Craig Tiley, speaking to APP. Some of the matches in the later rounds would have been exciting if they had been played best of five sets. » The tournament director remains convinced that it must be done “in in-depth consultation with the players”. But if they give their approval, things could fall into place very quickly.
“If we decide to do it (…), we will certainly do it in 2027. There is nothing in the regulations that prevents us from doing so,” continues Tiley, who does not intend to wait for a consensus among the four Grand Slam tournaments. The Australian Open is not its first attempt, whereas in 1994, the tournament decided to pass the women’s final in three winning sets. Decision finally abandoned, after the protest campaign of Steffi Graf, triple winner and on the way to her fourth coronation in Melbourne.
