Wimbledon men's doubles to change from best-of-five sets to best-of-three

| by Tom Grant

Wimbledon will join the format of the three other Grand Slams after it announced men's doubles matches will change from best-of-five sets to best-of-three.

The grass court London event had been the only slam the persisted with five sets to decide the men's doubles competition, with the Australian Open, French Open and US Open all decided by best-of-three.

But now, the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) have decided to fall in line with the other three after a "wide-ranging consultation", with the changes taking effect from this year's championships.

An AELTC statement read:

"The decision was made following a wide-ranging consultation and the change brings Wimbledon into line with the other grand slams which stage the gentlemen's doubles in a best-of-three format. This update will provide the referee's office with greater certainty when scheduling matches during the event and we hope it will encourage even more players to enter doubles at Wimbledon as a result."

The move comes after Australia's Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell won the 2022 title in a 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (3-7) 4-6 6-4 7-6 (10-2) epic which lasted four hours 11 minutes.

Prior to Wimbledon in last year, Nick Kyrgios - who had won the Australian Open men's doubles title months earlier - voiced his displeasure at having to play five sets at SW19.

The Australian later withdrew prior to the doubles starting in order to prioritise his singles campaign - in which he reached the final.

He said at the time:

"I think it is the stupidest thing ever. I don't know why it is best of five sets. No-one wants to play best-of-five-set doubles, no one wants to watch best-of-five-set doubles."

This year's championships get underway in SW19 in London from July 3.

The AELTC confirmed all other formats will remain the same.

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