Paula Badosa has tackled a very contentious topic recently, stating that women are not physically adept at playing a best-of-five set match.
For many years, best-of-five set matches have been the norm in Grand Slam men's matches. However, the WTA players only play a maximum of three.
This format has existed for the longest time. So, amending that deep-rooted tradition has been relaxed even as improvements are made to reduce gender inequalities in tennis on issues like prize money.
It is also believed that converting women's matches into best-of-five matches would present a major logistical challenge for tournament organizers at Grand Slams.
Scheduling at these premier tournaments is usually of the highest order, but unavoidable factors like rain and marathon matches can sometimes wreak havoc on the daily schedule.
Several men's matches can spill over the expected time of finish, leading to late-night finishes and even postponement to the next day. Extending women's matches to five sets would be quite complicated.
Additionally, there has not been a well-coordinated effort from the relevant stakeholders, including the players, to push for women's matches to be best-of-five. In fact, former WTA World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka criticized the idea and called for the matches to last an even shorter time.
But on Wednesday, Paula Badosa argued from an indisputable standpoint. The Spaniard opined that women "are not prepared" to play five sets because of menstruation and would not be in a position to recover as efficiently as a man.
"I personally don’t think women are prepared to play 5 sets. Also because of what we go through. For example, we go through periods. Are bodies aren’t like a man’s body. So I really think a woman wouldn’t recover as well as a man does."
Badosa is currently competing at the Citi Open in Washington and made her debut at the tournament with a thumping win over Sofia Kenin in the first round. Having opted to skip the Olympics, she is hoping to improve her ranking before the US Open and will play Liudmila Samsonova in the round of 16.
The former World No. 2 is not the only player who has raised the issue of periods affecting women in tennis matches. To some, it can sound like an outdated stereotype, but Canada's Eugenie Bouchard insisted there is no denying it and can have an impact.
She talked about the subject in June about her own experience of going through constant pain during practice and almost pulling out from the tournament on the day only to get a reprieve from the day's schedule.
The status quo is that women's matches don't get extensive coverage in primetime slots at Grand Slam tournaments, majorly because of the best-of-three format.
French Open tournament director Amelie Mauresmo even made the controversial claim that men's matches are more appealing and sounded upbeat about turning women's matches into best-of-five matches, a format that has been used at the WTA Finals but only briefly in the past.
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