Maybe Too Much is Too Much

Watching the French Open this year raised the age-old question of whether the men should continue to play a three out of five-set match at the four major championships. The drama of those matches has been and still is, a great attraction, but maybe, especially on clay courts, the wear and tear on the players must be reevaluated. So, let’s review the pros and cons of the current format.

1. On the positive side, it is a loved tradition that is unique on the tennis tour. It celebrates the verification of who are the best players in the game and does so only four times a year, and on different surfaces.

2. It is a true test as to who is the more complete player and helps eliminate any upsets of the top players by lower-ranked players who happen to have a few sets of unusual great play. Also, these lower-ranked players are not as exposed to the pressure of losing, and as a result, may take more risk and be successful in doing so.

3. If you are attending these matched, you really can get your monies worth in tennis entertainment. If you are in the audience, watching these marathon matches can take you on a great ride with many emotional ups and downs along the way.

4. A great five-set match will often provide some monumental moments where records are set or broken. It’s a great opportunity to witness if you are a long-time tennis fan.

5. Since there is more impact on the ranking of a player and more financial returns, it seems fair that the participants need to do more to earn those benefits.

6. The length of the matches has already been reduced by abbreviating the matches via tiebreakers and fifth-set super tiebreakers, why cut back even more? 

Then there are the positive incentives to change.

1. As mentioned, the wear and tear on the players is enormous, not just impacting their results at these majors, but also any tennis events before or after. Top players are purposely skipping the prior events to save their bodies and energy for the majors, or they may be injured and miss some events that follow.

2. Today’s players both hit the ball harder and with more physicality. It’s a new game entirely and requires players to both train and recover more extensively, so it’s not just the time on the court playing, it is the before and afterward which includes additional training and preparation. Remember, hitting the ball faster and often sooner, also requires faster movement to and from the contact with the ball. The rapid and extensive footwork of today’s players must be much faster, and in turn, will be harder on the body.

3. Tennis is one of the few sports where sometimes the starting time and always the ending time are not defined. This makes it very difficult for the media to measure coverage and advertising. Almost every other major sport has abbreviated its play to accommodate the media. Baseball plays under new rules when going into the 10^th inning and has added a timer for the hitter and batter to accelerate the game. Football has a new version for overtime, as does basketball and ice hockey, which has implemented a sudden-death winning goal in overtime.

4. Because the tournament must be played over a two-week period (plus the qualifying), for those having to go through the entire process, including the players, coaches, trainers, and family, the expense is far more than what would be incurred in a shorter event.

5. Lastly, the average tennis fan also plays tennis, and they may be playing during times of the matches, as a result, many avid tennis players must record the matches, which can eliminate the excitement of a live match. On top of that, if you want to see many of these matches as they are happening, the time difference from one part of the world to the other impacts the availability of the viewer for the event. Some fans may stay up late at night to see these great matches, but will they be willing to stay up late for five hours?

6. Lastly, would change to a two out of three-set match result in a positive move towards actually achieving equal play and pay for men and women?

These may not be all the plus or minus reasons, but they do raise the question that we need to review this issue. Maybe take the route that some other events have chosen, which is to only play three out of five sets in the finals. It just may be time to look at the big picture and ask that question, “Have the majors just become too much and too strenuous for the modern tennis player, and maybe equally as important, a difficult sport to broadcast in a world where the media no longer has the ability to attract an audience for five plus hours?”

In 2010 he was awarded “Manager of the Year” for the USPTA NorCal Division and the “Manager of the Year” at the USPTA World Conference. Rod has written several books including, “Down Your Alley” in 1993, “Playing Into the Sunset” in 2013, and most recently, “250 Ways to Play Tennis.”

He also produced the “Facility Manager’s Manual” and the “Business Handbook for Tennis Pros,” which is distributed by the TIA.