World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka has made her stance clear on a long-debated topic in tennis: the possibility of women playing best-of-five-set matches at Grand Slam tournaments. Following her opening-round win at Wimbledon, the Belarusian star expressed strong reservations about extending match lengths for women, particularly from the quarterfinal stage onward.
“Probably physically I’m one of the strongest ones, so maybe it would benefit me,” Sabalenka said. “But I think I’m not ready to play five sets. I think it’s too much on the woman body. I think we’re not ready for this amount of tennis. I think it would increase the amount of injuries.”
Her comments come in the wake of a gripping five-set French Open final between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, which lasted over five hours. While Sabalenka acknowledged the entertainment value of such marathon matches, she was quick to draw a line between admiration and aspiration. “For someone watching, it’s amazing to see five hours of great tennis,” she said. “But I’m not really jealous to stay there for five hours as a player.”
The debate over equal match formats has surfaced periodically, often reigniting during Grand Slam events. While some argue that parity in match length would reflect equality in the sport, others, like Sabalenka, emphasize the physical demands and potential health risks involved.
As the conversation continues, Sabalenka’s perspective adds a grounded and pragmatic voice to the discussion—one shaped by experience at the highest level of the game. For now, she remains focused on her Wimbledon campaign, where the traditional best-of-three format still defines the women’s draw.
Sabalenka in Wimbledon, ranking, and results in 2025
Ranked world no.1, the Belarussian owns an overall 43-8 match record in 2025. Aryna is now playing in Wimbledon where she defeated the world no.194 Carson Branstine 6-1 7-5.
Aryna Sabalenka will play the world no.48 Marie Bouzkova in the 2nd round on Wednesday at 1:30 pm on Centre Court. Their actual head to head record is 2-1 for Sabalenka.
The Belarussian has won 3 titles in 2025 in Brisbane, Miami and Madrid. Aryna was the runner-up at the Australian Open, in Indian Wells (BNP Paribas Open), in Stuttgart (Porsche Tennis Grand Prix) and at the French Open.
The Belarussian won 20 titles in her career: 15 on hard courts, 3 on clay courts and 2 on indoor courts. (See the list of her titles)