Rennae Stubbs has proposed a radical change to the latter stages of Grand Slams in light of Novak Djokovic’s gruelling quarter-final win over Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Jannik Sinner and Linda Noskova won the men’s and women’s Wimbledon titles, respectively, last weekend as punters were treated to two engaging finals.
The Italian came from a set down against Alexander Zverev to retain his title, while Noskova finally got over the line against fellow Czech Karolina Muchova in three sets after serving for the match in the second.
One of the most anticipated contests of the tournament was, arguably, between world No 1 Sinner and the man who beat him in five sets at the Australian Open, Djokovic.
The 39-year-old won a remarkable quarter-final over Auger-Aliassime in five hours and 15 minutes, but he didn’t have much left in the tank against Sinner, who saw him off in straight sets.
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As a result, Serena Williams‘ coach, Stubbs, feels that the men should should play four sets and then finish with a tiebreak instead of playing a fifth set and the women should adopt that from the quarter-final or semi-final stage.
On the latest episode of The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast, her co-host, Caitlin Thompson, said she wished the women played best of five sets from the quarter-final or semi-final onwards to “guarantee” higher-quality matches and avoid situations like Amanda Anisimova’s double bagel defeat to Iga Swiatek in last year’s Wimbledon final.
In response, the four-time Grand Slam doubles winner said, “I don’t agree with that. You and I have been talking about getting rid of best of five forever. I think a balance of four if it goes two sets all and then we play a 10-point tiebreak, which is basically the same thing anyway.”
Thompson then chimed in, “You’re just throwing in an entirely new format that nobody plays on any tour whatsoever, I love that!”
Stubbs said that a best of five set match for the women would go on even longer as their serves aren’t as potent as the men. She cited how Djokovic was “dead” for his semi-final with Sinner and if his Auger-Aliassime match was an hour or so shorter, it could have been a better last four contest.
She continued, “If we’re talking about women’s tennis and no offence to the women or men, the women are going to be playing longer matches because they don’t have the big serves.
“You saw the men’s, they are playing long rallies as well now, but they do have huge serves and they win a lot of points on their serve, particularly on grass.
“You won’t see that quick a point all the time, and certainly not on clay with the guys, they are going to be playing 40-ball rallies every time. If we’re going to do it for both, let’s do it for both, and when it’s two sets all, play a 10-point tiebreak.”
“I’m a tennis purist, I love watching great tennis. But I don’t want to see it for five hours and 15 minutes like we had to with the quarter-finals with Novak and FAA. Arguably that **** Novak for the next match against Sinner; he was dead!
“Jannik played the most perfect match in the semi-final. I was there, I watched it in person, and Novak was just a step slow on everything. Now is it because he’s 39? Probably.
“Is Jannik the best player in the world when he’s on? Probably. But if it doesn’t go five and a half hours in the previous match, maybe four hours, does Novak have a little bit extra in his tank? Probably.”
In the past, women have played best of five set matches. Indeed, between 1984 and 1998, the WTA Tour finals’ championship match utilised that longer format.
Logistically, a Grand Slam would not be wrapped up in two weeks if women also played best of five set tennis but perhaps if Stubbs’ idea was brought in for the end of the tournament, that could work.
Stubbs finished by saying, “I think there’s one way to get around this and we can satisfy everybody. From the semis, quarters maybe, you play best of five and you play best of four with a 10-point tiebreak. What’s the difference? What a great culmination of four amazing sets to go, ‘Okay, 10 points for the match’.”
These would be quite radical reforms for the sport but Stubbs thinks she’s found the sweet spot. Despite that, such changes seems highly unlikely.
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