Best-of-five sets in women’s game? Bring it on, says Emma Navarro

LONDON – With temperatures reaching more than 30 deg C at Wimbledon this week, players could be forgiven for wanting to reduce their time on court, but not American Emma Navarro who wants to see the women’s tour play best-of-five-set matches.

The 10th seed was seemingly hungry for more minutes on the sun-soaked grass at the All England Club, having taken little more than an hour to seal her place in the third round with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Veronika Kudermetova on July 3.

The best-of-five format is used only for men’s singles matches at the four Grand Slams, but with some pundits suggesting a rule change to allow the women to play for longer as well, Navarro says to bring it on.

“I would probably feel pretty good playing five sets. I think I feel good about my fitness level and endurance level,” the 24-year-old said.

“I would be curious to see how the (women’s) tour would hold up playing five sets. Yeah, I think it would be kind of fun.”

Such a move, even if for the latter stages of Majors, would allow fans of the women’s game to enjoy a potential hours-long epic such as the French Open men’s final between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz in June 2025 lasting 5hr 29min.

“I would be curious to see how the women would hold up playing for five hours, like those guys. Sinner and Alcaraz put on an insane display of endurance and fitness. I would be curious to see how the ladies would handle it,” Navarro added.

However, not everyone shares her view, particularly compatriot Jessica Pegula, who was concerned that long matches would be a snooze-fest for some viewers.

“I don’t think we all need to start playing three-out-of-five. For me it’s too long. I personally lose interest watching the matches. I think they’re incredible matches and incredible physically and mentally,” she said after her first-round loss to Elisabetta Cocciaretto.

“Do we really need that? I don’t know. I mean, some people love it. I personally will not watch a full five-hour match. People can’t even hold their attention long enough these days with phones. How are they holding their attention for five hours? I don’t know. Just not my thing.”

Meanwhile, seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic played as fast as he could in his bid for a record-extending 25th Grand Slam title at the age of 38 with a clinical 6-3, 6-2, 6-0 destruction of home hope Dan Evans on Centre Court.

The Serb, still raging against the dying of the light, delivered a superb all-round performance on his favourite surface, showing the sharpness and fitness of his prime.

With his win, Djokovic has made it to the third round at Wimbledon for the 19th time, more than any male player in the Open era.

“It means that I’ve been playing quite a long time, 19 times. That’s a great stat,” he said.

“That’s probably almost as many years as Sinner and Alcaraz have lived.”

Earlier on July 2, Jasmine Paolini became the latest victim of Wimbledon’s spate of giant-killings as the 2024 runner-up suffered a shock second-round exit against Russian world No. 62 Kamilla Rakhimova.

Just 12 months after her run to the All England Club final, the Italian followed a host of highly ranked seeds out of the grass-court Grand Slam.

The fourth seed, beaten by Barbora Krejcikova in the 2024 Wimbledon title match, slumped to a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 loss in 2hr 18min on Court Three.

After reaching the French Open and Wimbledon finals in 2024, Paolini has failed to make the quarter-finals in each of her last four Grand Slam appearances, although she won the Roland Garros doubles crown with partner Sara Errani in June.

The 29-year-old’s defeat against Rakhimova means four of the top five seeds in the women’s singles have been eliminated just three days into the event.

Second seed Coco Gauff, third seed Pegula and fifth seed Zheng Qinwen were beaten in the first round. AFP, REUTERS