{"id":2124886,"date":"2026-09-02T17:00:40","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T14:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2124886"},"modified":"2026-09-02T17:00:40","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T14:00:40","slug":"john-mcenroe-proposes-radical-new-rule-that-would-change-tennis-after-novak-djokovic-idea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2124886","title":{"rendered":"John McEnroe proposes radical new rule that would change tennis after Novak Djokovic idea"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"ps-article-content rounded-lg lg:mt-5 lg:border lg:border-card lg:bg-card lg:shadow-primary\">\n<header>\n<h1 class=\"py-4 text-xl font-normal text-title sm:text-2xl\">John McEnroe proposes radical new rule that would change tennis after Novak Djokovic idea<\/h1>\n<div class=\"my-2 flex items-center justify-between\">\n<div class=\"flex items-center\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/author\/ewan-west\" class=\"text-sm font-normal !text-author\"><br \/>\n                            Ewan West                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <time class=\"ml-3 text-sm font-normal text-info md:ml-4\" datetime=\"02 Sep 2026 6:00 PM\" data-ps-date=\"02 Sep 2026 6:00 PM\" data-ps-datetime=\"1788368440\"><br \/>\n                            02 Sep 2026 6:00 PM                        <\/time>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"hidden justify-end space-x-4 text-xl sm:flex sm:!opacity-100\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 hidden dark:block h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_dark.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on Google\" width=\"76\" height=\"24\"><br \/>\n                            <img 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!text-share-icon outline-none hover:!text-share-icon-active sm:hidden\" data-title=\"John McEnroe proposes radical new rule that would change tennis after Novak Djokovic idea\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/button>\n                    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"-mx-3 sm:-mx-5 border-b border-page\"><\/div>\n<section>\n<div class=\"-mx-3 sm:-mx-5\">\n<figure class=\"aspect-h-9 aspect-w-16 relative\">\n                                        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1320\" height=\"742\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"w-full h-full object-cover object-center !my-0\" src=\"https:\/\/d2me2qg8dfiw8u.cloudfront.net\/content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/John-McEnroe-Novak-Djokovic-1320x742.jpg\" alt=\"John McEnroe and Novak Djokovic\">                <\/figure><figcaption class=\"flex items-center space-x-3 border-b border-mobile-caption px-3 lg:border-caption\">\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-1.5 break-words !text-xs !text-content\">\n                                Novak Djokovic with John McEnroe inset                            <\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<div class=\"ciam-article-t365\"><!-- Article Start --><\/p>\n<p>John McEnroe has urged tennis chiefs to make a key change to the men\u2019s Grand Slam format as he made a telling claim about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/novak-djokovic\">Novak Djokovic<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Former world No 1 McEnroe secured 77 singles titles (including seven majors) and 77 men\u2019s doubles titles (including nine majors) during a glittering career.<\/p>\n<p>The American tennis icon has worked as a commentator and analyst at the Grand Slams for much of his retirement, and he is at the 2026 US Open in his role with ESPN.<\/p>\n<p>Djokovic suffered physically in a surprise five-set opening round <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/us-open\">US Open<\/a> loss to Mariano Navone. The legendary Serb now holds a 42-13 record in five-set matches.<\/p>\n<p>The 24-time Grand Slam champion recently called for the tennis scoring format to be radically altered.<\/p>\n<p>Asked to share an opinion about tennis that could lead to him being \u201chated\u201d by fans, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/novak-djokovic-radical-change-tennis-which-could-help-him-win-a-grand-slam\">Djokovic said<\/a>: \u201cWe should change the format of the scoring.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot play up to six games in the set, play it up to four, possibly no advantage. Best-of-five sets, keep the matches within a two-hour window. It\u2019s best for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>More US Open News<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/us-open-withdrawal-list-2026-24-stars-out\"><strong>US Open withdrawal list: 24 stars now out as more players suffer injury blows<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/carlos-alcaraz-told-us-open-rule-could-harm-his-wrist\"><strong>The US Open said to be putting Carlos Alcaraz at a disadvantage due to \u2018unique\u2019 rule<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Want more from Tennis365? Add us as <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\">a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for tennis coverage you can trust.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Speaking to reporters <span>at Flushing Meadows, McEnroe addressed Djokovic\u2019s surprising idea.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople\u2019s attention spans are shorter than ever,\u201d said McEnroe.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut Novak has won so much precisely because he was able to last longer than others.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was fitter than anyone had ever been and won matches that lasted five hours or more.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was much harder to beat in best-of-five-set matches than in best-of-three-set matches.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>McEnroe went on to make a contentious proposal to change the best-of-five set format.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor Grand Slams, I would recommend a match tie-break when the score is two sets all, rather than a full fifth set,\u201d the 67-year-old added.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, the four-time US Open winner has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/john-mcenroe-radical-tennis-rule-change-us-open-carlos-alcaraz\">argued that the five-minute on-court warmup before matches should be \u201cabolished immediately.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<h2>John McEnroe gives his verdict on Grand Slam prize money<\/h2>\n<p>McEnroe also weighed in on the debate over top tennis stars pushing for more Grand Slam prize money.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I won my first US Open, I received $39,000. Nowadays, that figure is over $120,000 \u2014 even if you lose in the first round,\u201d McEnroe said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPlayers ought to receive 20% of a Grand Slam\u2019s total profits, but it\u2019s 16%: 8% for the women and 8% for the men. That doesn\u2019t strike me as a very fair distribution.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you win the tournament, you get to pocket $5.5 million. Don\u2019t get me wrong: that\u2019s a huge sum, but the distribution needs to be fairer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe only way players will get fairer pay is if a boycott is threatened \u2014 and actually carried out.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not about the winner getting $10 million; the prize money needs to increase across the board.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>READ NEXT: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/carlos-alcarazs-us-open-coco-gauff-alex-eala-mania-elena-rybakinas-us-open-roundup\">Carlos Alcaraz\u2019s US Open \u2018disadvantage\u2019, ominous Coco Gauff warning, Alex Eala Mania and Elena Rybakina\u2019s worry \u2013 US Open roundup<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><!-- Article End --><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>John McEnroe proposes radical new rule that would change tennis after Novak Djokovic idea Ewan West 02 Sep 2026 6:00 PM Novak Djokovic with John McEnroe inset John McEnroe has urged tennis chiefs to make a key change to the men\u2019s Grand Slam format as he made a telling claim about Novak Djokovic. Former world [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,249],"class_list":["post-2124886","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-tennis365-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2124886","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2124886"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2124886\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2124886"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2124886"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2124886"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}