Why Do Female Tennis Players Only Play 3 Sets? The Best-of-5 Debate at the Grand Slams

The honest answer is that nobody decided it in a meeting. Women's tennis grew up in the late 19th century, when it was widely assumed that women could not or should not play long matches, and best of three became the standard for women at most events. The men's championships kept best of five, and the Grand Slams inherited both formats when the Open Era began in 1968.

The arguments for keeping it today are practical. A Grand Slam has a 128-player singles draw for men and another for women, and in the first week there are dozens of matches a day across the outside courts. Best of five for both would add hours of play per day to a schedule that already runs late into the night when rain or long matches pile up. Television schedules lean on the same fact. A women's match fits a predictable slot, a men's five-setter does not.

The arguments against are about fairness and visibility. Critics point out that equal prize money for fewer sets hands opponents of equal pay an easy talking point, and that women never get the chance to play the epic five-set matches that make men's careers. Supporters of best of three answer that the length of a match says nothing about its quality, and that many fans would rather see men play less, not women more.

Physiology is sometimes cited, but no tennis body uses it as the reason. Women run marathons and play long matches; the 1990 season-ending final between Monica Seles and Gabriela Sabatini lasted 3 hours and 47 minutes over five sets.

Equal pay and the number of sets are separate decisions, and the Slams have treated them that way. The US Open announced equal prize money in 1973; the other majors followed, with Wimbledon and Roland Garros the last, in 2007. Prize money is paid for the round reached, so a women's champion and a men's champion receive the same cheque whether the final lasted 90 minutes or five hours. The current figures are in the tennis prize money guide.

The objection that women are paid the same for "less work" comes up every year. It ignores the many men's matches that end in three quick sets, but it is one reason the best-of-five idea keeps coming back, because matching formats would take that argument off the table for good.

The number of sets is one of the few places where the rulebook treats the two draws differently. The service rules, including the foot fault, and the conduct code behind every code violation apply to men and women in exactly the same way.