Australian Open Tournament Director Craig Tiley has raised eyebrows with his announcement of plans to introduce five-set matches for women at the Australian Open, reigniting a longstanding debate.

Tiley mentioned that he would like to implement best-of-five matches from the quarter-finals onwards, sparking mixed reactions among players.

Danielle Collins offered a light-hearted response to the idea, while Madison Keys shifted the conversation toward possible changes in men’s tennis at Grand Slams.

Patrick Mouratoglou, who once coached Serena Williams and Simona Halep, also shared his perspective on the topic.

Patrick Mouratoglou says women should play five-set matches at Grand Slams

Mouratoglou, who has also worked with Holger Rune and Naomi Osaka, made his feelings clear in a recent post on Instagram.

“Of course they can,” he said. “And that would close the discussion, I mean, a piece of the discussion about equal prize money. Guys say we work way more, we play five sets they play only three.

“That would close the problem of the night sessions at Roland Garros: ‘We cannot put a woman on the night session because it can be 6-1, 6-1 in 40 minutes, and people pay for a ticket for one match. I mean, we’ll be in trouble. Okay, they play five sets? That is different.’

“So I 100 per cent think it should be five sets and women would show that they can do it and I know they can.”

The only exception to this was between 1984 and 1998 when the WTA Finals used a best-of-five format for its championship match.

The last player to win under those rules was Martina Hingis, who beat Lindsay Davenport 7-5, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.

Looking Back at the Longest Women’s Grand Slam Match of the Open Era

The 2011 Australian Open featured the longest women’s match in Grand Slam history, between Francesca Schiavone and Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Schiavone, who had won Roland Garros in 2010, came through a four-hour, 44-minute battle to beat Kuznetsova 6-4, 1-6, 16-14 in Melbourne.

Speaking after the match, Schiavone said: “It’s one of the most emotional moments of my life. When you’re in a situation like this, every point is like a match point. Physically, you’re tired. You just keep going.”

The win put her into a quarter-final meeting with Caroline Wozniacki but it proved to be too much for her to back up as she lost that contest 6-3, 3-6, 3-6.

Kim Clijsters went on to lift the title that year by beating Li Na in straight sets in the final.

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