WTA players divided on five-set matches proposal at Grand Slams

INDIAN WELLS, Calif., March 3 : Players on the WTA Tour offered a range of opinions on Tuesday on the idea of women's matches becoming best-of-five sets from the quarter-finals onward at Grand Slam events, a concept backed by newly named USTA CEO Craig Tiley. 

Women's tennis consists of best-of-three set matches, while men's matches at Grand Slam events are best-of-five.

Tiley, the longtime head of the Australian Open renowned for championing innovation in the sport, has argued that research shows interest grows as a match goes on.

Iga Swiatek, who has won six majors, did not understand why the sport would want to make matches longer in an era of ever-shrinking attention spans.

"It's a weird approach in the world where everything is becoming faster," she told reporters at Indian Wells. 

"So I don't know if the audience honestly would like that."

She also voiced concerns that there could be a dip in quality as players get tired. 

"I don't know if we would be able to keep the quality for five sets. Men are more physically strong and they can handle it better," she added.

"Also, we have never practiced in a way to prepare for that, so we would need to change our whole calendar, because the Grand Slams would be so tough that I don't think we would have time to prepare for any other tournaments."

Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina echoed Swiatek's concerns.

"You start in one format, and then it gets longer, so mentally, to be ready to play so many sets if it goes to that point, I think it's not easy," she said.

"It's a tricky topic, and me, as a player, I would say I wouldn't want to play three out of five, to be honest." 

Other players said the change would play to their strengths. 

"It probably would favour me because I'm