Aryna Sabalenka disagrees with BBC Wimbledon star as feelings made abruptly clear

Aryna Sabalenka has pushed back against Laura Robson's suggestion that introducing five-set matches in the latter stages of Grand Slam tournaments would "help" the women's game. The 27-year-old Belarusian, currently ranked World No. 1, eased into the second round at Wimbledon on Monday with a routine straight-sets win over Carson Branstine. But for other top seeds, the opening round proved more challenging.

Matches involving World No. 4 Jasmine Paolini, No. 6 Madison Keys, and No. 9 Paula Badosa all went to three sets, with Badosa falling to British No. 2 Katie Boulter, as several of the game's top names struggled to find early rhythm. Earlier this year, BBC pundit Robson, who is working on the broadcaster's radio coverage of Wimbledon this year, argued that five-set matches could ease pressure on players by allowing more time to settle into high-intensity contests. Sabalenka, however, remains unconvinced. "Probably physically, I'm one of the strongest ones, so maybe it would benefit me. But I think I'm not ready to play five sets," she said following her opening-round victory at SW19.

"I think it's too much on the woman's body. I think we're not ready for this amount of tennis. I think it would increase the amount of injuries. So I think this is not something I would consider."

When asked how she felt watching Carlos Alcaraz's epic five-set victory over Jannik Sinner in the final of last month's French Open - a match that stretched over five-and-a-half hours - Sabalenka replied: "I was happy to see that long, high-quality match. For someone watching, it's amazing to see like five hours of great tennis.

"It's so fun to watch. But I'm not really jealous to stay there for five hours. As a player.. I don't know how many days they needed to recover after that crazy match. But it was an unbelievable match."

Women compete in best-of-three set matches at all tournaments, while men play best-of-five at Grand Slams and best-of-three elsewhere. The idea of introducing five-set matches into the women's game has been raised by many, including former British No. 1 Laura Robson. While covering the Australian Open in January, Robson proposed implementing the change from the quarter-final stage of major tournaments.

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"I think women absolutely could play best of five sets," she said on Eurosport. "I think it's a logistical nightmare for any tournament director to try and plan two best-of-five tournaments, [but] I don't see why we don't play best-of-five from quarter-finals onwards.

"Over the last few years, with the nerves of some playing their first finals, it would help them to have another set to work with," Robson argued. "If they just had more time out there, you can tell that they'd recover further into the match. I know opinion is split, but I think they can do it."

Sabalenka, meanwhile, is set to face Marie Bouzkova in the second round on Wednesday, with a potential third-round showdown against British No. 1 Emma Raducanu on the horizon - provided Raducanu overcomes Marketa Vondrousova. The three-time major champion will be hungry for redemption after suffering consecutive Grand Slam final defeats this year, falling to Madison Keys in Melbourne and Coco Gauff in Paris.

Despite her Grand Slam success, Wimbledon has been Sabalenka's most challenging major, with just 11 match wins at SW19 - compared to 28 at both the Australian Open and US Open. Her best result at the All England Club is a semi-final appearance, which she achieved in both 2021 and 2023.