Women could potentially play five-set matches at the 2027 Australian Open following suggestions from its tournament director.
Craig Tiley mooted the idea for the hard-court Grand Slam in Melbourne, proposing that women could play best-of-five set matches from the quarterfinals onwards.
Currently, WTA players play best-of-three-set matches throughout the entirety of Grand Slams, while men play best-of-five.
Tennis fans don’t think women should play five-set matches at the majors, with two-time Grand Slam champion Coco Gauff now sharing her take on the debate.
Should women play best-of-five sets at Grand Slams?
Coco Gauff says women playing three-set matches at Grand Slams ‘feels right’
Ahead of her first match at the Qatar Open, Gauff was asked if she would want to play best-of-five set matches or if she prefers best-of-three.
She replied: “I mean, could I play best-of-five sets? Probably, yes. Do I want to? I mean, it’s a lot of playing. I don’t know.
“I feel like, from a spectator’s standpoint, it would be just too much for the men and women to play best-of-five.
“I mean, the matches are already going long, imagine if the women were also doing best-of-five sets.
“I guess my stance is whatever. Like I feel like if you’re going to best-of-five, like the whole tournament should be best-of-five.
“It shouldn’t be like, ‘Oh, we’re going to start best-of-five in the quarters’. I think for me that feels, I don’t want to say stupid, because that’s a big word.
“But I feel like the rules of the tournament should be consistent throughout the whole tournament. I don’t know.
“I like the way two-out-of-three is. I think best-of-five wouldn’t be terrible, but I don’t know. I feel indifferent towards the question, honestly.
“I like the way it is right now. Two-out-of-three feels right. I can be home at a good time. I feel like best-of-five we’re going to be out there until 5:00 a.m. like every day.”
Which WTA player would benefit the most from playing best-of-five sets?
Coco Gauff ready to put Qatar Open misery behind her
As ever, Gauff was mature and honest with her response to the question, which certainly isn’t an easy thing to do.
It’s an intriguing debate that won’t go away any time soon, particularly given that there are still three Grand Slams remaining this season.
For now, however, Gauff’s sole focus is on the Qatar Open in Doha, where the world number five starts against Elisabetta Cocciaretto.
Sharing her hopes to improve upon her second round exit last year, she said: “Yeah, I feel really happy to be back here.
“Obviously didn’t do that great here last year, so I’m looking forward to having a better result. But, yeah, happy to be back.”
Gauff is also playing doubles at the WTA 1000 tournament, where she will link up with Canadian youngster Victoria Mboko.
There have been several high-profile withdrawals from the first WTA 1000 event of the season, but the field remains strong.
World number one Aryna Sabalenka has withdrawn from Qatar, but Gauff, Amanda Anisimova, Iga Swiatek and Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina are all involved.
Gauff enters the event with a 7-2 win-loss record in 2026 so far, most recently losing in the Australian Open quarterfinals.
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