Australian Open to go Ahead With Final Set Breakers

The Australian Open could include a deciding-set tie-breaker into the fifth set of the main rounds of the tournament, as soon as the season of 2019. Tennis Australia has reportedly been given permission by the Grand Slam Board to shorten the length of matches at the first major tournament of the year. It has been, according to reports, decided to play the tie-breaks at 6-6 in the fifth set with a player needing to win 10 points by a margin of two.

The London 

Telegraph has reports that suggest the approval is on a year-to-year basis. Wimbledon had recently made a similar change, to be implemented in 2019 where-in that competition tie-breakers will be played at 12-12 in the deciding set and follow the regular singles format of players needing to reach 7 points by a margin of two.

The UK Times has reported that the players on the roster are now being consulted on whether the new format should be implemented at next year’s Australian Open, which begins on January 14. The move by Tennis Australia would leave just the French Open as the only grand slam that does not have tie-breakers. The US Open already uses them at 6-6 in the final set. Meanwhile, the WTA’s top 102 women and ATP’s top 101 men have all confirmed they will compete at the 2019 event.