{"id":175570,"date":"2025-10-02T17:06:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T17:06:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/175570\/"},"modified":"2025-10-02T17:06:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T17:06:08","slug":"former-gold-medalist-suggests-two-rule-changes-tennis-should-make-for-the-2028-olympic-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/175570\/","title":{"rendered":"Former gold medalist suggests two rule changes tennis should make for the 2028 Olympic Games"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Olympic title is one of the most sought-after prizes in tennis.<\/p>\n

In 2024, Novak Djokovic finally won the gold medal<\/a> on his fifth visit to the Olympic Games, defeating Spain\u2019s Carlos Alcaraz in the final.<\/p>\n

Three years earlier, Germany\u2019s Alexander Zverev<\/a> took down Karen Khachanov in the final to secure victory in Tokyo.<\/p>\n

\"AlexanderPhoto by Alexander Safonov\/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images<\/p>\n

In total, nine men have won gold in men\u2019s singles since the sport returned to the Olympic<\/a> calendar in 1988.<\/p>\n

Ahead of the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, one of those men has suggested two rule changes that he believes would improve the event.<\/p>\n

Yevgeny Kafelnikov says the final of the Olympic Games should be best-of-five sets<\/p>\n

During the latest episode of \u2018Hardcourt\u2019, 2000 Olympic champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov<\/a> called for a change to the format.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have my own, maybe radical opinion about this. I\u2019m absolutely convinced that five-set matches should be played at such a high level. Like it or not, it\u2019s the final match of a major tournament,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBack in my day, when I was playing, all the Masters tournaments finals were best-of-five sets, and perhaps that was its own highlight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Winning Olympic gold in Sydney 25 years ago, Kafelnikov outlasted Tommy Haas in five sets, 7-6, 3-6, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.<\/p>\n

The Russian legend believes longer matches are better for the fans, as he outlined the risks associated with best-of-three finals.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpectators want to come and watch a match that lasts more than two hours and so on. There are tons of great examples of amazing five-set matches played at such important tournaments, such as the Olympics and Masters, and everyone was very happy,\u201d said Kafelnikov.<\/p>\n

\"YevgenyPhoto by Omar Rawlings\/Getty Images for International Tennis Hall of Fame<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s bad when a match goes by quickly, 6-1, 6-2, it\u2019s all over within an hour, and spectators pay huge amounts of money for tickets and in the end don\u2019t get what they expected.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kafelnikov also proceeded to explain how best-of-five set matches can produce more deserving winners than best-of-three set matches.<\/p>\n

\u201cObjectively speaking, in a three-set match you can lose two sets basically to anyone,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I am deeply convinced that in a five-set match, the stronger athlete will always win.<\/p>\n

\u201cA weak opponent can not beat a strong one in five-set matches.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 51-year-old called for another change to the Olympic Games, which has been fiercely debated for several decades.<\/p>\n

\"LAMyung J. Chun \/ Los Angeles Times via Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cI am absolutely in favor of awarding ranking points,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m absolutely for it. Because it is a tournament where everyone gives their all, and almost all the top players play.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ranking points were awarded at the 2004, 2008, and 2012 Olympics, but were removed from 2016 onwards.<\/p>\n

YearGoldSilverBronzeFourth placeQuarterfinalsRound of 16Round of 32Round of 64200440028020515510050255200840028020515510050255201275045034027013570355ATP Ranking points awarded at the Olympics<\/p>\n

2008 Olympic gold medalist Elena Dementieva agreed with Kafelnikov, but remembered why many believed awarding ranking points was unfair.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were very big debates you remember, some for it, some against it. The argument was that not everyone can get there and take part. The federation doesn\u2019t send everyone to the Olympics,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were some nuances, but of course, it\u2019s a full-fledged tournament with the strongest players. I also think there should have been ranking points.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether either change will be implemented in time for the 2028 Games remains to be seen, but it will certainly be something to look out for\u2026<\/p>\n

List of Olympic men\u2019s singles medalists since 1988<\/p>\n

Tennis returned to the Olympic calendar in 1988 for the Seoul Games, having last been seen in Paris, 64 years ago.<\/p>\n

It was a successful addition, allowing some of the best players in men\u2019s tennis to add an Olympic gold medal to their trophy cabinets.<\/p>\n

Olympic GamesGoldSilverBronze1988 \u2013 Seoul, South KoreaMiloslav MecirTim MayotteStefan Edberg\/Brad Gilbert1992 \u2013 Barcelona, SpainMarc RossetJordi ArreseGoran Ivanisevic\/Andrei Cherkasov1996 \u2013 Atlanta, USAAndre AgassiSergi BrugueraLeander Paes2000 \u2013 Sydney, AustraliaYevgeny KafelnikovTommy HaasArnaud Di Pasquale2004 \u2013 Athens, GreeceNicolas MassuMardy FishFernando Gonzalez2008 \u2013 Beijing, ChinaRafael NadalFernando GonzalezNovak Djokovic2012 \u2013 London, UKAndy MurrayRoger FedererJuan Martin del Potro2016 \u2013 Rio, BrazilAndy MurrayJuan Martin del PotroKei Nishikori2020 \u2013 Tokyo, JapanAlexander ZverevKaren KhachanovPablo Carreno Busta2024 \u2013 Paris, FranceNovak DjokovicCarlos AlcarazLorenzo MusettiOlympic men\u2019s singles medalists since 1988<\/p>\n

Only time will tell who will win gold in LA when the next Olympics begin on Friday, July 14, 2028.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Olympic title is one of the most sought-after prizes in tennis. In 2024, Novak Djokovic finally won…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":175571,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[5905,101,118,56,54,55,78396],"class_list":{"0":"post-175570","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tennis","8":"tag-olympics","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-tennis","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom","13":"tag-unitedkingdom","14":"tag-yevgeny-kafelnikov"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175570","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=175570"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175570\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/175571"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=175570"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=175570"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=175570"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}