Andy Roddick suggests one common fact is often left out when talking about the prospect of female tennis players playing best of five sets in Grand Slams and that's women dealing with menstrual cycles monthly.
During this past Wimbledon, there had been a lot of talk about whether women should play the five-set format and some of the top players had been asked to reveal their feelings.
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka very directly said she was against the idea. Coco Gauff noted she preferred the format to stay as it is. Meanwhile, Naomi Osaka acknowledged it wouldn't be easy to adjust to such a change but suggested she would be open to women possibly playing the five-set format from the quarterfinal stage to the final in Slams. Overall, the feeling is that the majority of female players are happy with the current three-set format and don't want any changes in that department.
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On his podcast, Roddick described all the rumors about women possibly playing best-of-five set matches as nothing more than "just a chatter." Then, he brought up periods and noted that since Grand Slams take place over two weeks, there would always be a big chance of a player having a menstrual cycle during the tournament. And playing the five-set format in such a state would pretty much make it hell for the player.
Roddick: Women go through some things that men don't over a two-week tournament
"That buzz aint going anywhere. Thats just chatter. There are things that women go throughand most likely a lot of them are going through at some point over the course of a two-week eventthat men dont have to go through. That gets left out of every argument, and rolling the dice on when that happens is insane," the former world No. 1 said on the Served with Andy Roddick.
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After making his point clear, Roddick also highlighted that he was fully against the idea of women playing the common three-set format until the quarterfinal and then switching to the five-set format.
"I think it completely changes the dynamic of what has already been accomplished in that slam up until that point," Roddick added.
The tennis authorities haven't shown any indication that the best-of-five set format could be introduced in any capacity in women's tennis.
