The tired retort of whether women’s tennis should include 5 sets or not has become an ongoing debate for years. And recently, Nick Kyrgios has reignited that conversation by voicing his opinion on the subject. Known for his candid remarks, Kyrgios has further sparked discussions in the tennis community, bringing light to whether this tradition should carry forward in the future or not.

Nick Kyrgios recently engaged in a Q&A session on his Instagram. One asked him, “Do you think women should also be playing 5 sets?” The Australian player replied to the question with a video of him playing a high-intensity tennis match with the caption “Pls No,” with an emoji showcasing tiredness.

The history of the best-of-five-set format in tennis has its roots in the medieval game era, which began in France during the 12th century. However, over the following centuries, the scoring system has evolved. And now we see a best-of-five set format as a general standard during the men’s singles matches in the Grand Slams. But that is not the same with women’s tennis. 

Although, there have been some periods in history where many female players voted for the same format in women’s tennis as well. Especially after Billie Jean King’s historic victory and advocacy for equal pay in 1976. But nothing changed. The notion resurfaced repeatedly for the past few decades, but no concrete solution ever came up. 

And till now, we find players’ mixed opinions on the subject. On one hand, there are former tennis pros like Anke Huber, who have expressed confidence on the subject. But on the other hand, according to Serena Williams’ ex-coach, Rennae Stubbs, “This is why u don’t need best of 5!!! This is the perfect amount of time! It’s long enough and every minute has been quality! I said what i said!”

She said this after witnessing one of the most intense three-hour-long battles on-court in Madrid between Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swaitek. But former tennis pro Billie Jean King has a completely different perspective on the matter.

“It takes too much out of them,” Billie Jean King declares

The former World No. 1, Billie Jean King is known for her advocacy for women’s equal rights in tennis. Therefore, when it came to raising her opinion on the five-set format matches at Grand Slams, the founder of WTA, made sure to not back down. However, her response to the whole idea was a bit different. “Everyone keeps saying women don’t want to play five sets but I don’t want the men playing five sets anymore. It takes too much out them.”

The 79-year-old player further added that women can play five-set matches too. But, she went on to question the impact of “quality over quantity”. While opinions may vary, one thing we can agree on is that Nick Kyrgios’ comments indeed brought forth an important conversation in the women’s tennis world.