Former Wimbledon official feels ATP and WTA should play same number of sets due to equal prize money at Grand Slam
Tennis NewsThursday, 22 June 2023 at 18:30
Former Wimbledon official/referee, Andrew Jarrett has called upon the tournament to implement a major rule change with equal prize money being on offer during Grand Slams.
That being that men and women should play the same amount of sets since they are earning the same amount of prize money, with Novak Djokovic and Elena Rybakina receiving the same amount last year for less sets of tennis.
The men's tournament is played as a best-of-five-set tournament, while women to the same as is played on both tours usually and that is best of three.
Jarrett was one of the main officials who helped introduce equal prize money back in 2007 with both champions earning £2m each. This will increase even further this year but amid the disparity, he wants to see change.
“Equality in general is something being imposed, and I think it is an area in which tennis can hold its head reasonably high,” the 65-year-old told the Daily Mail.
“You have equal pay but the men are playing more. For it to be carried further you could play best-of-three-sets for everyone in singles up until the fourth round, then have everyone playing best-of-five-set matches from the quarter-finals onwards.”
But while this is a debate at Wimbledon, it has been a main talking point amid huge disparity on the tour between ATP and WTA especially at combined tournaments such as the Rome Open.
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Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
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