US Open finalist shares Jessica Pegula's tennis proposal as 'ban' suggested

Madison Keys, the winner of this year's Australian Open, has joined fellow tennis star Jessica Pegula in calling for a "ban" on five-set matches. The 30-year-old, who lost the 2017 US Open final to Sloane Stephens, is preparing for this year's Flushing Meadows in New York City and argues that the length of men's matches can be detrimental to other players.

Keys recalled an instance at the US Open where she was forced to wait for a lengthy five-set match to conclude. She jokingly said: "I was third on, but I followed two men's matches, they both went five sets and I went on after the night session [had begun]. And it was at that moment that I decided that we should ban five sets."

Whether or not Keys was being tongue-in-cheek, her suggestion to speed up the turnover of games at major tennis events echoes the sentiments of her compatriot. Pegula, 31, expressed similar frustrations, saying: "If you're in a grand slam and you follow a three-out-of-five-set match, and they go five, you're screwed."

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In July, the World No. 4 suggested that Wimbledon should consider reducing men's matches to three sets, reports the Express. This came after she suffered a straight-sets defeatto Elisabetta Cocciaretto in the first round.

Following her loss, the 2024 US Open finalist, also known as one of the world's wealthiest tennis stars, sparked debate about the ongoing three vs five sets discussion. Men play best of three during Masters events but switch to the longer format for majors, while women only ever play three sets.

"One hundred percent I think it's harder to win two-out-of-three than it is to win three-out-of-five," she said. "Not physically, obviously, but I think it always is going to cater to the better player in the long run if you're playing three-out-of-five. I think you'd see a lot more upsets of top players if men played two-out-of-three in slams.

"It's a lot harder when you don't have that much time. You get down one break, especially for the men, and you're like, Oh, gosh, I'm kind of done. I need some luck. I need someone to choke a little bit. There's a lot that needs to happen. I definitely think three-out-of-five you have way more time to turn around. You do. You have an extra set.

"I would rather the men play two-out-of-three," she added with a smile when asked what the solution was. "I don't think we all need to start playing three-out-of-five."

Pegula revealed that she also battled to maintain focus during five-set encounters, adding: "For me it's too long. I personally lose interest watching the matches. I think they're incredible matches and incredible physically and mentally. I'm like, do we really need that? I don't know. I mean, some people love it."

"I personally will not watch a full five-hour match. People can't even hold their attention long enough they say these days with phones. How are they holding their attention for five hours? I don't know. Just not my thing.

"I think it would be a lot easier for TV, for scheduling. I mean, TV's always talking about making everything faster and quicker, all of that stuff. So I don't see why. It's been such a staple for the men. I find it hard to believe they're ever going to change it. Maybe if they could also play three-out-of-five from the quarters on. I don't know. Something like that."

Madison is setting her sights on her second Grand Slam of the year as the US Open women's singles kicks off on Monday, August 24. Meanwhile, Pegula's quest for a major continues after she was defeated in last year's final by Aryna Sabalenka.

The draw for the men's and women's singles will be completed on Thursday, August 21, with Keys seeded sixth and Pegula fourth.