‘It’s a joke’ – Former top 20 star fires back at Grand Slam reform calls

Richie Mills 04 Oct 2026 9:01 PM

Pictured: Ben Shelton and Carlos Alcaraz at the US Open

A former top 20 player doesn't want best-of-five set tennis at the majors changed

Calls to replace the fifth set at Grand Slams with a 10-point tiebreak have been branded as a “joke” by a former top-20 player.

Following a US Open that had a number of finishes in the early hours of the morning, most notably Carlos Alcaraz’s quarter-final loss to Ben Shelton, debate has sprung up about reforming the best-of-five Grand Slam format.

Former British player John Lloyd thinks best-of-three set tennis should be introduced at the majors, while Serena Williams’ coach Rennae Stubbs wants best-of-five set tennis introduced from the quarter-finals onwards for both sexes at the Grand Slams.

Stubbs said on her podcast last month, “I want to see two sets all, fifth set, 10-point tiebreak. As [Andrea] Petkovic and Jason Goodall said, if you can’t distinguish yourself after four sets, let’s just play a 10-point tiebreak.

“I think from the quarter-finals on, best of five, with the fifth set being a 10-point tiebreak is the best way to go for men and women, and then we can finally stop talking about ******* equal prize money.”

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Without naming Stubbs, former world No 14 Jan-Michael Gambill has rubbished that sort of proposal, arguing that a fifth set shootout is “amazing” to watch.

The American said on the Inside-In Tennis Podcast, “I’m not a proponent of taking away the fifth set. I think, especially if you work so hard, you play four sets, you’re going to play a 10-pointer for the fifth. I mean, that’s a joke.

“I think that’s an actual joke, and that sells those athletes short. It sells what’s really hard short. The five sets were really difficult for me.

“I struggled in five-set situations. I ran out of steam in the fourth and fifth sets a little bit. That was my problem. Other people figured it out. I think that that’s one of the things that’s so amazing to watch.”

During Gambill’s career, he reached one Grand Slam quarter-final but won three ATP Tour titles and was a runner-up at the Miami Open in 2001. Indeed, some players, such as Arthur Fils, are much more effective over three sets rather than five, with the 22-year-old struggling to transfer his ATP Tour success to the majors.

Incidentally, the likes of Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev have come out in favour of keeping best-of-five set tennis at the majors, particularly as it only happens four times a year.

On the flip side, Daniil Medvedev is one of the few players who wouldn’t mind shortening the format at the Grand Slams, a view shared by 39-year-old Novak Djokovic.

It seems this debate is here to stay.