Are Grand Slam Tournaments Upholding Gender Inequality?

At the four major Grand Slam tennis tournaments men and women play different match lengths.

By Eliana Flores-Barber

Photo Credit Eliana Flores-Barber

The 2022 Tennis US Open has been filled with some of the most memorable moments. From Serena Williams' farewell match, to the youngest male player taking the world number one spot, and the first filipina to win a junior grand slam; we have witnessed elite tennis playing.

I was fortunate enough to have attended the US Open on September 4th with a few of my former college tennis teammates.

Stepping onto the grounds of the US Open I was immediately engulfed by tennis players, new and old, sharing the same excitement for this thrilling day.

Hearing audiences gasp and celebrations echo through the grounds, seeing banners with faces of former U.S. Open champions lining the walkways, you can't help but fall more in love with the sport.

As we jumped from court to court, and discussed each player as though we were seasoned commentators, an unavoidable conversation sparked up following what many would consider a simple inquiry.

“Why are men’s matches best out of five, while women play best out of three?” asked a former teammate of mine about the tournaments.

Without saying a word, the four of us looked back and forth at each other and the same thought came to each of us - sexism.

A quick google search pulled up a great deal of answers from Grand Slam tournament rules to journalistic articles showcasing the historic inequalities in tennis.

However, in order to fully understand how the best-of-three matches came to be, we must look back in history to the few five set matches played by female tennis players.

Friday, June 26th, 1891.

In a best-of-five Challenge Round match at the Philadelphia Cricket Club, Mabel Cahill defeated Ellen Roosevelt 6-4, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 at the U.S. National Championship - now known as the U.S. Open - giving the world their first look at a women's best-of-five match.

As reported by The New York Times, “A great crowd witnessed the match, which was splendidly fought from start to finish, and every stroke was liberally applauded...Every point was fought to the end with wonderful tenacity, and at the conclusion of the contest both ladies were cheered and congratulations extended alike to victor and vanquished.”

The following year, Cahill took on 16-year-old Elizabeth ‘Bessie’ Moore in the U.S. National Championship resulting in the first full five-set match played by women. Cahill took the victory once again with the final scores of 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.

For a brief period in the final match of the 1893 tournament, the women played best-of-three, but the following year it was reverted back to best-of-five.

The 1901 tournament is the one which held a jaw dropping amount of sets played by one athlete. In only two matches, Moore played a culmination of 105 games. Although exhausted, it was reported that Moore prevailed in her singles matches.

Each one of these pro athletes proved to the world that they were not just great “female tennis players” but great tennis players.

With such thrilling matches, why were the tournament rules then changed?

The all male board of the United States Lawn Tennis Association (now referred to as United States Tennis Association or USTA) decided that these match set lengths were far too rigorous for these “dainty women” to endure - despite the wishes of many of the female players.

And so the “tradition” of women’s best-of-three matches was implemented - that was until Billie Jean King made her mark in this world.

Upon her domination of Bobby Riggs in what is known as “Battle of the Sexes” she demonstrated to the world once again that female tennis players are more than capable of playing best-of-five matches.

Therefore the Women’s Tennis Association (“WTA”) adopted the best-of-five format for their end of season matches from 1984-1998.

However, once again the best-of-five format was disbanded from the WTA tour but this time it was the low television rating which was the culprit.

While viewership ratings do play a role in sports, as female athletes know the lack of viewership, respect, and support all comes back to the sexism that has been embedded into the sport.

With this new knowledge and reading of the ways in which misogyny played a large role in the decision making process, our prior assumption that sexism was the deciding factor in why women only play best-of-three in Grand Slams was solidified.

“It’s such a stark and unnecessary difference between the men’s and the women’s tournament and by nature of the rule, it looks like women ‘can’t handle best-of-five’,” states Sabrina Jacobs, a former women’s tennis collegiate player, when asked about the best-of-three rule.

Discrepancies in the number of sets played continue to reinforce the idea that the female body, a woman's natural biology, hinders her from being just as capable to play intense matches like their male counterparts.

For Jacobs, this biology argument was one she heard used by men numerous times during her years of competitive match play.

“They [male coaches and players] say that they could beat Venus or other top female players, just because “men are naturally stronger than women,” she recalls.

Jacobs points out that while men and women do have biological differences, the continuous use of this argument to justify inequality at the major Grand Slams lessens the accomplishment of female athletes.

In a similar manner, Division II collegiate men’s tennis player Maximo Lawlor says “I actually would love to see women’s tennis play best-of-five sets at the four grand slams. They have just as much endurance as the men do. I also believe that this would help gain more respect for women’s tennis at the professional level from male tennis players and fans.”

Having played at both a Division III school and now being at a Division II school, he has played alongside many female athletes who’ve represented the best in their division.

“Women’s tennis players at all levels work just as hard and sometimes harder than their male counterparts,” he says.

The major Grand Slams, while they are the only tournaments that hold a different set of rules for men and women’s matches, the inequality in them holds a lot of weight.

“We’ve been saying for years, years, that we want to play five sets, but they always said: ‘Oh, no, no, we want it to stay the way it is,’ ” shared famed tennis player Martina Navratilova with the New York Times in 2014.

The continuation of this “tradition” is what coach Abigail Villena is working towards changing with her students.

“The root of inequality lies in the mindset that women are weaker than men or not as exciting as men or not as exciting as men’s sports. Women are resilient and exciting,” says Abigail Villena, a former Ohio State women’s player, and pro tour player.

Now as a coach, Villena has dedicated her career to encouraging and teaching young girls to find their self-confidence and strength through tennis. This way they no matter what is thrown at them while competing in their sport and no matter the match length, their match play is electric.

So what is keeping women from playing in best-of-five format?

The last couple years have proven that viewership for women’s matches has been at an all time high, at least for their finals.

Serena Williams' farewell third-round match at the 2022 U.S. Open became the most watched in ESPN history. The roughly three hour match accumulated 4.8 million viewers as reported by CNN.

The year prior, ESPN data reports show the average viewership of 2.44 million for the U.S. Open women’s final match between Emma Raducanu and Leylah Fernandez. While the men’s final played by Daniil Medvedev and Novak Djokovic had an average viewership of 2.05 million.

The awe invoking play of female athletes, like Serena Williams, in a three match format is on another level but now imagine the spectacle created seeing an opponent push Williams to a five set match.

Tennis as a whole is rigorous both mentally and physically. Even at a best-of-three match we have seen the exhaustion it has on athletes, therefore it is understandable that a big enough change such as this could be daunting for some younger female players as they have never had to play a best-of-five match.

As Marie Cool, a Division II tennis player, states “I can understand why there should be a difference because I cannot begin to imagine if women would have to play matches to three winning sets.”

The uncertainty about a longer match, however, stems from the lack of training and opportunity given to female players.

With Grand Slam tournaments having the best-of-five rule for men, male athletes, starting from a very young age, have been trained to have a longer endurance, stronger physic, and the mental preparation for grueling match lengths.

As Andy Murray told the New York Times in 2013 “I’m not saying the men work harder than the women, but if you have to train to play five sets, it’s a longer distance. It’s like someone training to be a 400-meter runner and someone training to be a 600-meter runner.”

Women’s tennis will always fall short of men’s if they aren’t given the same opportunity to produce compelling performances - in length - at Grand Slam tournaments. And while many of us would love to see these female elites take it to the next level in a five-set match, the unfortunate reality of shorter attention spans, tradition, and overall little viewership means major tournaments won’t be giving WTA tours the same representation - at least for now.

Amidst my interviews with these young athletes, many recommendations for how we as tennis fans and tennis players can help close the gender gap were shared.

As Lawlor suggests, the incorporation of more mixed doubles tournaments at the junior level will hopefully give younger boys a new perspective.

“This is the age when boys become men and girls become women. More competition with the other gender is likely to help boys respect their girl counterparts,” he says.

For Jacobs, “Journalists should ask men and women the same questions. Tournaments should have the same rules for the men and the women’s matches. The media and the public should stop holding women to a double standard. If men don’t get fined for showing emotion on the court or taking their shirt off, then why should women?” she passionately states.

In Cool’s mind, there will unfortunately always be inequality in every sport, however we “can start with making all the rules for men and women the same. For example, changing clothes on the court, and best-of-three matches for everyone at Grand Slams.”

As for our seasoned coach, Villena explains “Closing the gap of gender inequality begins and ends with us women supporting Women’s sports and advocating for more exposure, equity, and inclusivity. Women need to lift up other women, not break each other down.”