Tennis Australia chief executive Andrew Abdo suggested Grand Slams could cut back best-of-five men’s singles matches as tennis looks to attract younger audiences.The former National Rugby League chief, who succeeded Craig Tiley at Tennis Australia in August, said the sport should explore shorter formats and changes to its scoring system as it competes with other sports for audiences.His comments come seven months after Tiley proposed a move in the opposite direction by suggesting that best-of-five-set matches be introduced in the women’s competition at the Australian Open from the quarter-finals onwards.“Maybe in the future slams at the different rounds or at different lengths of duration, maybe we’re not playing best of 5 all the way through, maybe the point scoring system changes,” Abdo said at the SportNXT conference in Melbourne.
“Maybe there are different permutations to how we engage and entertain audiences without losing the fabric, and what really makes the sport special.”Both men’s semifinals at this year’s Australian Open went to five sets, with Carlos Alcaraz defeating Alexander Zverev in five hours and 27 minutes, the longest semifinal in the tournament’s history, while Novak Djokovic beat Jannik Sinner in four hours and nine minutes.Men currently play best-of-five sets throughout the singles competition at all four Grand Slams, while women play best-of-three. Abdo said lengthy matches had to be considered in the context of other sports competing for younger audiences with increasingly limited time.“If you want to maximise your commercial outcome, we’re in the entertainment game, right?” he said. “Sport is entertainment, and clearly there’s unbelievable athleticism involved with the sport at that level, but the rules and the format and the product has to evolve.”Abdo replaced Tiley in the role last month (William West / AFP via Getty ImagesTiley took a contrasting position during January’s Australian Open, when he told The Athletic he wanted women to play best-of-five sets from the quarter-finals onwards.“All the research shows interest grows as the match goes on,” Tiley said. “As a sport, we need to evolve.”“There are going to be people who say this is ridiculous and others who say it is a good idea,” he added. “The idea is to have a discussion.”Abdo also set a target of making tennis Australia’s most-played and most popular sport within five years. He said he wanted the Australian Open to become the “biggest, most successful slam on the planet” over the same period.
