Wimbledon will cut men’s doubles matches from best-of-five sets to best-of-three at this year’s tournament.
The decision aligns Wimbledon with the other three Grand Slam tournaments, which stage the event in three sets.
Australians 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 that lasted four hours 11 minutes.
The All England Club, which organizes Wimbledon, said the decision was made after “wide consultation”.
He added that the move would provide “greater certainty” in the scheduling of matches and encourage more pairs to take part in the men’s doubles at the grass major.
Ahead of Wimbledon in 2022, Nick Kyrgios – who won the Australian Open men’s doubles title months earlier – expressed his annoyance at having to play five sets at SW19.
The Australian then withdrew before the start of the doubles in order to prioritize his singles campaign – in which he reached the final.
“I think it’s the dumbest thing ever,” he said at the time.
“I don’t know why it’s best-of-five. Nobody wants to play best-of-five-set doubles, nobody wants to watch best-of-five-set doubles.”
