Gabriela Sabatini weighs the best‑of‑five debate after Aryna Sabalenka’s comments

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Gabriela Sabatini has shared her thoughts on Aryna Sabalenka’s recent comments regarding the idea of women playing best-of-five set matches.

Sabalenka had previously dismissed ideas of women playing the longer format, claiming that she was ‘not ready’ to do so.

The issue resurfaced earlier this year after former Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley suggested implementing five-set matches from the quarterfinal stage onward.

Since then, Sabalenka has said her views have shifted and that she’d be open to the change. Now, former US Open champion Gabriela Sabatini has responded with her own perspective.

This topic has been discussed in tennis for a long time, but many players feel more confident talking about it now than ever before. That includes Gabriela Sabatini.

Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images

Gabriela Sabatini comments on women’s tennis moving to five sets

Between 1984 and 1998, the final of the WTA Finals was played over five sets, so Sabatini has experience with that format.

Speaking to Gonzalo Ferreyra, she reflected on her own experiences and questioned whether it would be realistic for players to handle five sets throughout an entire tournament.

“Yes, I think this is their decision, isn’t it? They should give their opinion on whether they like the idea or not,” said Sabatini.

“I can tell you that I played, I played twice in the Masters final that was played to five sets. I had to play a five-set match against Monica Seles.

“We played for almost four hours, I think, and it was a spectacular experience because it’s obviously different from what you usually play, but hey, it was just the final, right? That game, I don’t know if it can be done for the whole tournament. That’s perhaps something that the girls have to decide, isn’t it?”