Overview
- In early August 2026 Novak Djokovic set out a specific plan in interviews at Fanatics Fest and on the Nick Knows Ball podcast to change tennis scoring.
- He proposed sets played to four games, the possible removal of advantage scoring at deuce, and keeping best-of-five matches at Grand Slams to cap matches at about two hours.
- Djokovic framed the proposal as a response to this season’s gruelling five-set contests, citing long matches against Jannik Sinner, Félix Auger-Aliassime and João Fonseca as context.
- The suggestion has drawn mixed reaction on social media and from former players, and no governing body or Grand Slam organiser has announced any move to adopt the proposal.
- Shorter formats already exist in experiments such as the ATP Next Gen Fast4 and UTS, and changing to four-game sets could alter match tactics, player recovery needs and TV scheduling if pursued.