The Australian Open has spent recent years embracing change, and its crowds have continued to rise year after year.

One of the clearest examples came in Melbourne this season with the introduction of the One Point Slam, a one-point contest that matched professional players with amateurs and became one of the tournament’s most discussed features. The event also welcomed Roger Federer back to the venue for the first time since retirement and staged a number of exhibition matches. Even so, further alterations could still be on the horizon for 2027.

New Tennis Australia chief executive Andrew Abdo, who has replaced Craig Tiley, has floated the possibility of significant changes to the scoring structure at the Melbourne event.

“Maybe in the future, Slams at the different rounds, or at different lengths of duration, maybe we’re not playing best-of-five all the way through, maybe the point scoring system changes,” said Abdo.

That suggestion has already drawn criticism from fans on social media, many of whom remain strongly attached to the sport’s traditions.

The debate is not new. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal both defended best-of-five-set matches at the majors, with Nadal saying in 2020: “I mean, winning Grand Slam, playing best-of-three demand to the player something else, no? Stronger mentally, stronger physically, be solid for such a long time and for such a long two weeks. So I really believe that’s the right thing to do.”

Federer was equally firm. “It won’t happen, the best of three stuff,” said the Swiss icon. “The tradition of tennis is having best-of-five at the majors and that will remain. Those who want best-of-three don’t really have the best interests of tennis at heart.”

There has also been support for change from other leading players. Novak Djokovic said in 2020: “I am more of a proponent of best-of-three sets everywhere. You asked me why. I just feel that we have enough tournaments, enough matches during the year.

“We have the longest season of all sports, any sport in the world. Tennis has the longest season from January 1 to end of November. Literally every single week you have tournament somewhere.”

If such a shift does arrive in 2027, Djokovic could be one of the main beneficiaries. He has already been pushed through several five-set Grand Slam matches this year, including against Joao Fonseca and Felix Auger-Aliassime, and those contests have left the 24-time Grand Slam champion heavily drained.

When Carlos Alcaraz hurt his wrist at the Barcelona Open in April, the reaction was immediate concern. Wrist problems have already altered the careers of some of the game’s most gifted players, including Dominic Thiem and Juan Martin del Potro.

Both men reached the top of the sport and both won Grand Slam titles, yet injuries left their careers with lingering what-ifs. Thiem’s own turning point came at the Mallorca Open in 2021, less than a year after he lifted his first and only Grand Slam trophy at the US Open in 2020. After that, he was never truly able to rejoin the ATP Tour’s top tier. Del Potro’s path was similarly affected by chronic issues in both wrists, which repeatedly interrupted a career of huge promise.

Now Thiem has offered his view on Alcaraz’s recovery and the way the Spaniard has returned to a high level at this year’s US Open. In an interview with El Mundo, the Austrian said: “I expected him to really take his time, to manage the injury well, and I think he has done it.

“With an injury, you need a lot of patience. I didn’t return to playing very soon, but I did go back to training. Everything Carlos did right, I did wrong.”

So far, Alcaraz has done little to suggest the wrist has significantly changed his game, apart from a serve that looks a bit less powerful than before the injury. He has moved into the US Open quarter finals with wins over Roman Safiullin, Jaime Faria, Wu Yibing, and Tommy Paul.

He has conceded only one set in four matches, an impressive return given that he had not played a singles match for four and a half months.

Next comes his toughest assignment yet. Alcaraz will face Ben Shelton for a place in the semi finals, and Shelton’s strong form at Flushing Meadows should provide a serious examination of the Spaniard’s wrist and match sharpness. Even so, Alcaraz has already beaten the American three times, including their only Grand Slam meeting at Roland Garros in 2025, plus meetings at the Laver Cup and the Canadian Open.

Ben Shelton may go into his US Open quarter-final against Carlos Alcaraz as the outsider, but he remains the player most likely to trouble the Spaniard in that part of the draw.

That is the view of former world No 4 Greg Rusedski, who says Shelton will need one of his best serving performances if he is to push the seven-time major winner. Rusedski also noted Alcaraz’s strong record against Americans at Grand Slam level, where he is 13-0, leaving Shelton needing both boldness and precision on Tuesday night.

On his Off Court podcast, Rusedski said, “Shelton is a danger man because he’s got that massive serve; he can take the racket out of your hand.

“You have to mix up your serve. The serve is the key, holding your service games. And then taking risks, especially on Alcaraz’s second serve. Going big, coming in every once in a while, bringing him forward on your terms, making him feel uncomfortable.

“And that all starts by holding your service games easily; that’s where you use the kick serve, serve and volley, slice, flat. Don’t be predictable because if he gets a rhythm, you’re in trouble, and you need a high percentage of first serves.”

Andy Roddick, another player built around a huge serve, offered a different angle. Speaking on Served, he argued that Shelton must lean into pace and disruption rather than disguise.

The 2003 US Open champion said, “Ben has to disrupt. He has to go big on the second serve. The chips are out of play against Carlos. I am curious to see how he goes about strategy. I think he has to buzz the tower with big first serves, body blows.

“Who else from a lefty can go 145mph? He [Alcaraz] doesn’t see that. Ben has the serve. He has to use it and use his disrupting weapon against Carlos to have a real shot.”

Brad Gilbert has also been weighing up the match since the draw was made. The former coach of Andre Agassi believes the winner will go on to capture the title, but he says Shelton must simplify his serving patterns and improve his second-serve return if he is to beat the 23-year-old for the first time after four straight defeats.

Gilbert said on The Big T podcast,”If I was coaching Ben… he hits a lot of kicks and slices and a lot of variation. I want to see the 149(mph), I want him to drop 30 aces and be a little less unpredictable on the serve.

“I think if he can go out and take some risk on second serve returns, keep the rallies short, kind of rush him, I think that’s his best shot. Once the rallies get extended… problems.”