“Would you want to watch that?”: John McEnroe and Maria Sharapova split on five-set women’s matches

John McEnroe and Maria Sharapova discussed the future structure of Grand Slam tennis during an appearance on the Rushmore podcast, reopening a long-running debate about whether match formats should be altered. The conversation centred on the possibility of best-of-five-set matches in women’s tennis and potential adjustments to deciding sets in the men’s game.

The discussion quickly exposed a clear divergence in views between the two former world No. 1 players. Sharapova expressed immediate scepticism about extending women’s matches to five sets, questioning both the competitive logic and spectator appeal of such a change at the highest level of the sport.

McEnroe, meanwhile, adopted a more experimental stance, referencing past trials of extended formats in women’s tennis and suggesting that structural innovation should remain on the table. His comments focused less on tradition and more on finding a compromise between entertainment value and competitive integrity.

The exchange ultimately moved beyond the specific question of women’s five-set finals, touching on broader concerns about physical demands in men’s matches and whether modern tennis could benefit from modified scoring systems designed to reduce match length while preserving competitive tension.

Sharapova was directly asked about the prospect of women’s finals being played as best-of-five sets, mirroring the men’s Grand Slam format. Her response was unequivocal, framing the idea as both impractical and commercially unappealing from a viewing perspective.

The Russian argued that extending matches would not necessarily improve the product for fans, questioning the underlying assumption that longer automatically means better. “Why would they do that? Would you want to watch that? Watching a women's match best-of-five from start to finish? No chance. I don't believe it.”

Sharapova’s position also implicitly raised concerns about scheduling, recovery, and the consistency of performance across longer matches, although she did not expand on those aspects in detail during the exchange.

McEnroe responded by pointing to historical precedent, noting that extended formats had already been tested in elite women’s tennis. “They already did it for a few years with the women at Madison Square Garden, at the tournament featuring the top eight players. I think Martina Navratilova and Monica Seles played best-of-five matches, and it wasn't a total disaster.”

While acknowledging that longer matches do not automatically guarantee higher quality, McEnroe shifted the discussion towards structural compromise. His focus was on maintaining the competitive stakes of five-set tennis while reducing physical strain and match duration.

He compared sporting endurance to entertainment formats, suggesting that extended duration can sometimes dilute quality rather than enhance it. “It wasn't necessarily more competitive. Often, a two-hour movie is better than a three-and-a-half-hour movie. Men's stamina drops too. Very often in fifth sets, both players are exhausted.”

McEnroe then outlined a specific proposal aimed at preserving the tension of a deciding set while introducing a faster resolution mechanism. The idea would maintain best-of-five structure but replace the traditional fifth set with a shortened decider. “I think there should be best-of-five matches, but with a 10-point super tie-break when it's two sets all. It would be a sort of compromise.”