Aryana Sabalenka Voices Against Tennis Rule That Can Be ‘Too Much On The Women Body’

The French Open recently found itself at the center of controversy after yet another year of excluding women’s singles matches from the prestigious primetime night session. Not a single women’s match has featured in that slot since 2023. Tournament director Amelie Mauresmo offered a blunt explanation: women’s matches, played as best-of-three sets, tend to finish much faster than men’s five-set battles. Should women play five sets? This debate has spilled over to Wimbledon, and Aryna Sabalenka is weighing in with her bold take.

Looking every bit the title contender and the World No. 1, Sabalenka powered through her opening match on Monday, defeating qualifier Carson Branstine 6-1, 7-5 to advance to the second round. But it was her post-match press conference that sparked headlines.

When asked whether she would be in favor of playing best-of-five sets in Grand Slam tournaments like the men, Aryna Sabalenka didn’t hesitate to give an honest response. The Belarusian said, “I think probably physically I’m one of the strongest ones. Maybe it would benefit me. But I’m not ready to play 5 sets. I think it’s too much on the woman’s body. We are not ready for this amount of tennis. I think it would increase the amount of injuries. So this isn’t something I would consider. I’ll leave this for the guys to handle.”