Tennis: FA Cup-style draws, better scheduling and best-of-three in a Slam first week – what changes could the sport make?
Another tennis year is about to begin, so let your imagination run wild.
It’s Monday, June 30, 2025, and we’ve just received coverage of Wimbledon.
“The defending women’s champion is the first player to walk off Center Court this year, as the All England Club joins other Grand Slam tournaments in a year of significant change.
“In the first four rounds of the Grand Slams, men and women played best-of-three sets together, and from the quarter-finals onwards, all singles matches were played over five sets.
“The changes to this year’s Australian Open are welcome. With only one finish after midnight as 17:00 local time is adopted as the default start for night matches – there’s plenty to look forward to later in the year.
“The Davis Cup and Billie Jean Gold Cup will be combined in September to create the Tennis World Cup, while the end-of-season tournament will feature an FA Cup-style draw, a faster scoring format and players having to hit the ball no matter how poorly the pitch is thrown. The ball is a special ball.”
You may not like all of these ideas – or even any of them – but change isn’t as difficult as it’s often thought.
Here are five ideas to change the game of tennis.
