John McEnroe has called on tennis’ lawmakers to introduce a new rule that would benefit Carlos Alcaraz and British ace Jack Draper. The 2026 French Open is underway, but there are several high-profile absentees who have missed the year’s second Slam through injury.
The legendary tennis icon suggested scrapping the fifth set of men’s Slam matches, should they be tied at 2-2. Instead, McEnroe thinks the best course of action would be to go straight into a 10-point tiebreaker to decide who progresses.
Speaking on TNT’s coverage, he explained: “I like it a lot [the 10-point tiebreak] but you know what I suggest in the future? People’s attention spans generally are getting shorter and shorter… two sets all – 10 point tiebreak.
“What do you think of that, Mats Wilander, who did better in best of five than best of three? For excitement and also for down the road for health. Look at all the male players who are out of this draw Rachel. For their health. Where’s Carlos Alcaraz, [Lorenzo] Musetti, Jack Draper, Holger Rune, Arthur Fils, that’s some top players.”
The duration of men’s matches at Slams have been a topic of debate for some time now, with suggestions they should be made shorter, at least in the earlier rounds. McEnroe has been a firm believer that matches at the Slams should only be four sets long, saying back in 2021: “I was always looking for that solution in the middle, which is best-of-five, but say a 10-point tie-breaker at the end of the fourth set.
“That would be my compromise. I wouldn’t make it two-out-of-three now at the majors. I would still have it different. But we want this sport to grow, for God’s sake. We shoot ourselves in the foot all the time. I don’t understand it. We have this incredible sport, so we should try to make it as accessible, so that they want to tune in. That would be a no-brainer personally. I mean, I’ve been saying that for 30 years.”
McEnroe’s compatriot Chris Evert agreed, saying: “I go along the junior circuit, that’s all they do, the ITFs. There’s still enough points in a 10-point tie-break so that you can play your way into the tie-break. It’s not like a seven-point tie-break where every point is like you’re shaking in your boots.”