Sabalenka: Bring on Five Setters

On media day at the BNP Paribas Open, players were asked about how they felt about Craig Tiley’s comments in February about women playing best-of-five set matches from the quarterfinals on at the majors.

“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,” Tiley said. “So it’s something we should put on the agenda and start talking to the players about it because there’s some matches in those last rounds which would have been fascinating had they been three out of five sets.”

Aryna Sabalenka was quite enthused to hear about it. She said she felt she’d have won more majors by now if the Slams were using this format.

Here’s the snippet of conversation from her press conference today, which alludes to her confidence in her stamina and physicality.

Q. I just wondered what your thoughts were on Craig Tiley’s idea of women playing best-of-five sets?

ARYNA SABALENKA: Oh, let’s do that.

Q. In the second half of the Grand Slam, not in the first week?

ARYNA SABALENKA: Yeah, let’s do that. I feel like I would have probably more Grand Slams. I feel like physically I’m really strong, and I’m pretty confident that my body can handle that. So let’s do it.

Q. You’re clearly the best player in the planet, but for everybody else, do you think it would be a good idea?

ARYNA SABALENKA: Well, I don’t know. I guess it’s a lot of fitness work to be done for others, but I feel like we’re in sport and we have to care about ourselves, and I feel like if they do it, I have huge advantage.

World No. 1 Sabalenka is bidding to win her first Indian Wells title this year. She has lost her two previous finals in three sets, to Elena Rybakina in 2023 and Mirra Andreeva last year. Think best-of-five would have made a difference. Apparently she does.