The ongoing US Open has been nothing short of a rollercoaster, filled with thrilling matches, intense rivalries—and of course, a fair share of controversy. From players venting their frustrations on the courts to commentators sparking heated debates, tennis enthusiasts haven’t missed a beat in calling out these moments. And just when we thought the storm might calm as the tournament nears its end, yet another wave hits. This time, the spotlight shifts to none other than journalist and tennis insider Ben Rothenberg.

Rothenberg is known for his critical take on tennis. He has often presented ideas that do not align with the perspectives of tennis fans. But his latest remarks, pertaining to the duration of the match between Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz, have sparked a major debate.

Taking to X, the journalist wrote, “I know people like best-of-five, but seeing a great player hit a wall physically like this and swiftly cease to be competitive in the match is not compelling entertainment to me.” He signified that even the men’s tournament should be limited to the best-of-three instead of best-of-five. 

On September 7, the semifinal match between Tiafoe and Fritz stretched to five sets. The dreams of an easy Sunday morning turned into a Monday nightmare during the last service game of the fourth set. Tiafoe, trailing 4-5, had two opportunities to level the score at 40-15 but committed consecutive double faults. He then played a fatigued drop shot that landed on the net, handing Fritz the fourth set. The 20th seed confessed that he experienced muscle cramps during those crucial double faults.

“In the fourth, I don’t know, just had some in-and-out cramps. I just felt like my body just kind of shut down on me,” Tiafoe said, later adding, “I kind of felt there out of nowhere, just cramps out of nowhere. I felt fine. It wasn’t even really warm or humid tonight.” However, the support of Rothenberg for Tiafoe did not go well with the fans. 

“Separates the boys from men” – Ben Rothenberg receives intense backlash

Taking to X, one user slammed the journalist and wrote, “5 sets is the ultimate test. Almost all of the best matches in history went 5 sets.” Indeed, one of such matches took place at Wimbledon in 2008. When Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer took on each other in the finals, the fans found themselves on the edge of their sets. Interestingly, the match continued for a whopping 4 hours and 48 minutes, with Nadal emerging the ultimate champion 6–4, 6–4, 6–7, 6–7, 9–7. This match is considered being one of the greatest by many in the tennis community. 

Responding to the tweet, another user wrote, “The match barely hit the 3 hour mark. Work on your fitness. I’ve watched 4 hr women’s matches.” Several five-setter matches have continued for a duration of 4 to 5 hours and even more. In fact, the tennis world has witnessed matches as long as 11 hours and 5 minutes(over three days for a total of 183 games) that unfolded in 2010 Wimbledon between John Isner and Nicholas Mahut. The situation has not been different for the WTA stars.

In 2023, 74 WTA main draw matches were three hours or more in length. In such a situation as this, Fritz and Tiafoe played for around 3 hours, which is comparatively less than the ideal scenario. Meanwhile, several others joined the fray.

“Separates the boys from men. Remember when Djokovic used to bonk and now he is GOAT.” Novak Djokovic is known for taking the match too deep and emerging victorious. Even in the French Open this year, he played two five-setter matches against Lorenzo Musseti and Francisco Cerundolo, which continued for 4 hrs 29 minutes and 4 hrs 39 minutes, respectively. One more user responded similarly. Responding to Rothenberg, another user wrote, “I guess you know nothing about sports.”

This is not the first time when Rothenberg has received backlash for his comments. After Elena Rybakina complained about the same questions being asked to her repeatedly during the French Open, the journalist made a controversial comment. “But honestly, for a player to whine about not getting prime court slots and media and then to be aggressively insolent in press when folks are trying to make her interesting…just a fundamental ignorance of how to succeed in the entertainment industry.” This led to a lot of flak from fans over the comparison of an athlete to someone from the entertainment industry. 

Another user simply commented, “Awwww, did your boy lose 🤡” questioning if he was biased for Tiafoe. While Rothenberg is yet to make a follow-up remark, it would be interesting to see how far the controversy goes. Will Ben Rothenberg receive more flak? Only time will tell.