Alcaraz berates move to ditch best-of-five sets format at Grand Slams
Spanish tennis star Carlos Alcaraz has berated recent moves to replace the iconic best-of-five sets format for men’s singles tennis at the Majors to best-of-three format.
Alcaraz who was speaking on Wednesday during a pre-tournament press conference ahead of his 2026 Japan Open campaign said that changing the format from five to three sets at the four Grand Slams would be equivalent to “killing the legacy of tennis”.
He noted that he has watched and played the best of five at the Grand Slams since the very beginning and he thinks that changing the traditional format of the Majors will not augur well for the game of tennis.
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“If we take away that (best-of-five sets) and play best-of-three, we’re just killing the legacy of the Grand Slams. We’ve been playing best of five at the Grand Slams since the very beginning and I think that’s what makes those tournaments different and special,” Alcaraz said.
Recall earlier in September that incoming Tennis Australia CEO Andrew Abdo, publicly floated the idea that Grand Slams might eventually “need to adapt by altering their point-scoring systems or shortening matches in early rounds to cater for evolving broadcaster, sponsor, and fans demands.”
The move to potentially modernise the game in order to explore shorter formats moving forward has became a hot topic among players and enthusiasts who have highlighted a sharp contrast between modern scheduling concerns and the historical legacy of the game.
