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Jessica Pegula Suggests Rule Change in Men’s Grand Slam Matches After Crashing out of Wimbledon
Susan Mullane-Imagn Images

Jessica Pegula crashed out of the Wimbledon Championship after she was stunned by Italy’s Elisabetta Cocciaretto in straight sets. The American star injected more drama and upset into the grass-court Grand Slam after suggesting that men’s matches in major tournaments should be reduced from a maximum of five sets to three sets.

Men’s singles Grand Slam matches are played in a best-of-five format, meaning the first player to win three sets automatically wins. However, the argument for best-of-three and best-of-five has increased following the Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz final at the Roland Garros. The match ended in favor of Alcaraz after five sets and lasted for five hours and 29 minutes, which made it the longest final in the history of the tournament.

Since the start of the Wimbledon Championship, several women’s players, including Aryna Sabalenka, have revealed that they are not interested in playing five sets in a major tournament. Jessica Pegula was asked about the format during her press conference, and she recommended that all matches, both in men’s and women’s singles, should end in just three sets.

The American star pointed out that the reason for that is that she loses interest in a tennis match when it becomes too long. She added that she personally does not watch a five-hour match:

Would I want to play three-out-of-five? No. I would rather the men play two-out-of-three. I don’t think we all need to start playing three-out-of-five. For me, it’s too long. I personally lose interest in watching the matches. I think they’re incredible matches and incredible physically and mentally. I’m, like, ‘Do we really need that?

Pegula was among the strong favorites to win the Wimbledon Championship following her triumph at the Bad Homburg Open. The World No.3 had beaten two top 10 players, Iga Swiatek and Emma Navarro just at the tournament. But on Tuesday (July 1), she suffered a 2-6, 3-6 loss against Elisabetta Cocciaretto in the first round.

Jessica Pegula opens up on whether she had any injuries before arriving at Wimbledon

Jessica Pegula was the architect of her loss against Elisabetta Cocciaretto at Wimbledon. The 31-year-old struggled to find her rhythm on the court and was easily outmaneuvered by her Italian opponent. Also, she hit a staggering 24 unforced errors and only had five winners in the 59-minute defeat.

The Miami Open runners-up took to the court wearing a substantial amount of strapping around her left leg. She was asked during the aforementioned press conference whether she had any injuries before the match, to which she revealed:

The knee feels good. There wasn’t really anything bothering me. I’m managing it pretty well. I think it’s not holding me back. I had a little bit of a neck injury as well that’s been on and off this year. But at the same time, being able to play the last few weeks and get my body acclimated to the grass, it’s actually felt really good.

Pegula will now leave London with the hope of bouncing back from her loss when the North American hard-court season begins. She has a lot of points to defend during the swing as she finished as a runner-up in Cincinnati and the US Open. Pegula will open her North America campaign at the Washington Open which kicks off on July 21.

This article first appeared on FirstSportz and was syndicated with permission.

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