I'm sat watching the #AusOpen2020 and, yet again, find myself asking the same question that I have asked for many years.Why do the women get away with only playing 'Best of 3 Sets'. The Men's pathway to a Grand Slam Final is littered with long, gruelling 'Best of 5 Sets' matches, so why the inequality? Why aren't there loud voices calling for the 'Play Gap' to be closed?
Surely, in times where equality is pushed with such fervour (rightly so), it is only right that the women get the same prize money for the
same level of effort and achievement. I also wonder which female players would benefit most from having to play similar length matches to the men. Would the same players be in the Top10 or are there better athletes waiting to show their staying power over a greater match time? A war of attrition.
It would be very simple to sort out. To free up court time, both the Men & Women should play 'Best of 3 Sets' until the last 32 or 16 stage. After this, both the Men & Women should play 'Best of 5 Sets' - fair, equal, for the same money. This should be the model for all Grand Slam Tournaments. Arguably, it should be the model for all tennis tournaments to iron out the inequality within the sport.
When are we going to see this inequality addressed and which will be the first of the Grand Slam tournaments to level the playing field? My money is on the Australian Open. Equal pay for equal roles. Or, we could bin 5 Set matches for both Men & Women and all play 'Best of 3 Sets'. #OnlyFair #FairPlayFairPay #AustralianOpen2020 #Wimbledon2020 #FrenchOpen2020 #USOpen2020
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