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Gabriela Sabatini discusses Aryna Sabalenka's remarks on women playing best-of-five set matches. Sabalenka stated she is 'not ready' for this format, which was proposed by former Australian Open director Craig Tiley.
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Gabriela Sabatini has shared her thoughts on Aryna Sabalenkaâs 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 ânot readyâ 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 sheâd 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
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.
âYes, I think this is their decision, isnât it? They should give their opinion on whether they like the idea or not,â said Sabatini.
âI 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.
âWe played for almost four hours, I think, and it was a spectacular experience because itâs obviously different from what you usually play, but hey, it was just the final, right? That game, I donât know if it can be done for the whole tournament. Thatâs perhaps something that the girls have to decide, isnât it?â
Aryna Sabalenka expressed that she is 'not ready' for women to play best-of-five set matches.
Former Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley suggested that women should play best-of-five set matches from the quarterfinal stage onward.
Gabriela Sabatini has shared her perspective on Aryna Sabalenka's comments regarding the best-of-five set match debate.

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Sabatini reached the WTA Finals four times while the event was still using a best-of-five format, giving her a fair amount of experience in that setup.
The former world number three had some success, beating Pam Shriver and Lindsay Davenport in straight sets. But she found it tougher against Steffi Graf and Monica Seles, losing to them in four and five sets, respectively.
The final womenâs match played over five sets came at the 1998 WTA Finals, where Martina Hingis defeated Lindsay Davenport.
Despite ongoing discussion about bringing the format back, there hasnât been any real movement toward making it a regular part of womenâs tennis again.
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