THE SECOND SETS
ONE of sport’s most enduring sexist traditions will continue next month at the French Open in Paris.
As with every tennis grand slam tournament since 1902, the men will play five-set matches and the women only three. The lopsided format dates from a ruling in 1901 by the United States Tennis Association’s (USTA) council that claimed playing five sets was too physically demanding for women.
The US council (entirely male) was reflecting Victorian-era beliefs on women’s stamina and its decision was upheld in the European game. The ruling was controversial at the time with Elisabeth Moore, the US champion over five sets in 1901, lamenting the lack of consultation with female players. “Lawn tennis is a game not only of skill but of endurance as well,” she argued, to no avail.