At the media day of the BNP Paribas Open, players were asked what they thought of Craig Tiley’s comments in February about the women’s best-of-five starting from the Grand Slam quarterfinals.
“One of the things I’ve been saying right now is I think the women’s team should have a best-of-five. We should look at the last few games — the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals — to have the women’s team have a best-of-five,” Tilley said. “So that’s something we should put on the agenda and start talking to the players about because some of the games in the last few rounds if it’s three sets out of five it would be interesting.”
Aryna Sabalenka was very excited to hear the news. She said she felt she would have won more majors by now if they had adopted this format.
Here’s a snippet of her talk from today’s press conference, hinting at her confidence in her endurance and fitness.
ask. I’m just wondering what you think about Craig Tiley’s idea of women playing best-of-five sets?
Arina Sabalenka: Oh, let’s do that.
ask. The second half of a major, not the first week?
Arina Sabalenka: Yeah, let’s do that. I feel like I could probably win more Grand Slams. I feel very strong physically and I’m very confident that my body can handle it. So let’s get started.
ask. You’re obviously the best player on the planet, but do you think this would be a good idea for everyone else?
Alina Sabalenka: Well, I don’t know. I want to do a lot of fitness work for other people, but I feel like as we move, we have to take care of ourselves, and I feel like if they do that, I have a huge advantage.
World number one Sabalenka is seeking to win her first Indian Wells title this year. Her previous two finals losses came in three sets to Elena Rybakina and last year’s Mirra Andreeva. Think best-of-five will make a difference. Apparently she does.
