Longest tennis match records

At the 2010 Wimbledon Championships John Isner (left) defeated Nicolas Mahut (right) 6–4, 3–6, 6–7(7), 7–6(3), 70–68 in the world's longest tennis match. The match lasted 11 hours, 5 minutes.

A plaque commemorating the Isner-Mahut match exists on Court 18 at Wimbledon.

This article details longest tennis match records by duration or number of games. The 1973 introduction of the tiebreak reduced the opportunity for such records to be broken. However, among the Grand Slams, only the US Open uses the tiebreak in the final set; the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon instead use the advantage set rules in the final set – in such a set there can be an indefinite number of games until there is a winner. This resulted, for example, in the record-smashing Isner v. Mahut match at Wimbledon 2010.

Overall

Men

Nicolas Mahut (pictured) had to play three matches to qualify for Wimbledon 2010. His qualification route included a 24–22 set against Alex Bogdanovic and a five set match against Stefan Koubek.

Main article: Isner–Mahut match at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships

The longest professional tennis match, in terms of both time and total games, was the Wimbledon 2010 first-round match between Nicolas Mahut and John Isner on 22, 23, and 24 June 2010.

• Longest match by time and games: It took 11 hours and 5 minutes of playing time, and required 183 games.
• Longest set by time and games: The 5th set took 8 hours and 11 minutes of playing time, and required 138 games.
• Longest play in a single day: The first 118 games of the fifth set, played on 23 June 2010, lasted 7 hours and 6 minutes. This time is longer than the entire Nelson-Hepner match (below) and all other matches in tennis history.
• Most games in a single day: 118, on the 23 June.

Women

• The longest women's match (by time) took place at a tournament in Richmond, Virginia, in 1984, when Vicki Nelson took 6 hours, 31 minutes to defeat Jean Hepner 6–4, 7–6(11). The match featured a 29-minute, 643-shot rally, the longest in professional tennis history. This match is also the longest professional match completed in a single day; the Mahut-Isner match was twice suspended by darkness, lasting three days.
• The longest women's match (by games) occurred in 1995 when Chanda Rubin defeated Patricia Hy-Boulais 7–6(4), 6–7(5), 17–15 in the second round at Wimbledon. This match lasted 58 games in 3 hours 45 minutes.

Doubles

• Longest doubles match by time: In a 2002 Davis Cup semifinal tie, the Argentina team of Lucas Arnold and David Nalbandian defeated the Russia team of Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Marat Safin in 6 hours, 20 minutes 6–4, 6–4, 5–7, 3–6, 19–17.
• Most games in a doubles match before the introduction of the tiebreaker: In the American Zone Final of the 1973 Davis Cup, the United States team of Stan Smith and Erik Van Dillen took 122 games to defeat the Chile team of Patricio Cornejo and Jaime Fillol 7–9, 37–39, 8–6, 6–1, 6–3.
• Most games in a doubles match after the introduction of the tiebreaker: In 2007 at Wimbledon, the team of Marcelo Melo and André Sá took 102 games to defeat the team of Paul Hanley and Kevin Ullyett 5–7, 7–6(4), 4–6, 7–6(7), 28–26.

Australian Open

Men

Longest match by time played
2012 final, 5 hours and 53 minutes
Novak Djokovic	5	6	6	65	7
Rafael Nadal	7	4	2	77	5
Also the longest grand slam singles title final in the Open Era.

Longest singles final match by number of games, before the tiebreaker introduction
1927, 71 games
Gerald Patterson	3	6	3	18	6
John Hawkes	6	4	6	16	3
This was the longest Grand Slam final in terms of games until the Federer v Roddick final at Wimbledon in 2009.

Longest match by number of games, using tiebreaker scoring
2003 quarterfinals, 83 games
Andy Roddick	4	7	4	6	21
Younes El Aynaoui	6	6	6	4	19

Women

Francesca Schiavone won the longest ever match at a women's Grand Slam event in 4 hours 44 minutes.

Longest match by time played
2011 fourth round, 4 hours and 44 minutes
Francesca Schiavone	6	1	16
Svetlana Kuznetsova	4	6	14
Also the longest women's match in a Grand Slam in the Open Era, and the second-longest women's match in the Open Era.

Longest match by number of games, using tiebreaker scoring
1996 quarterfinals, 48 games
Chanda Rubin	6	2	16
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	4	6	14

Longest singles final match by number of games, before the tiebreaker introduction
1956, 33 games
Mary Carter Reitano	3	6	9
Thelma Coyne Long	6	2	7

Roland Garros

Arnaud Clément (pictured) lost the longest ever match at the French Open to Fabrice Santoro in 6 hours 33 minutes. He expressed his disappointment at losing the match which until 2010 held the record for the longest ever match stating: "Frankly, I don't give a damn...What world record? Do I get a medal? If I'm not getting anything, frankly, I'm not interested. It doesn't count."

Men

Longest match by time played
2004 first round, 6 hours, 33 minutes
Fabrice Santoro	6	6	65	3	16
Arnaud Clément	4	3	77	6	14

Longest match by number of games, before the tiebreaker introduction
1951 semifinal, 76 games
Eric Sturgess	10	7	8	5	9
Ken McGregor	8	9	6	7	7

Longest match by number of games, using tiebreaker scoring
1994 second round, 71 games
Ronald Agénor	64	62	6	6	14
David Prinosil	77	77	3	4	12

2004 first round, 71 games
Fabrice Santoro	6	6	65	3	16
Arnaud Clément	4	3	77	6	14

2010 first round, 71 games
Lukáš Lacko	4	77	77	65	12
Michael Yani	6	65	64	77	10

Longest singles final match by time played
1982, 4 hours and 42 minutes
Mats Wilander	1	78	6	6
Guillermo Vilas	6	66	0	4

Longest singles final by games, before introduction of the tiebreaker
1927, 61 games
René Lacoste	6	4	5	6	11
Bill Tilden	4	6	7	3	9

Men's doubles

Longest men's doubles final match by number of games, before the tiebreaker introduction
1934, 63 games
Jean Borotra and Jacques Brugnon	11	6	2	4	9
Jack Crawford and Vivian McGrath	9	3	6	6	7

1971, 63 games
Arthur Ashe and Marty Riessen	6	4	6	6	11
Tom Gorman and Stan Smith	8	6	3	4	9

Women

Longest match by time played
1995 French Open, 4 hours 7 minutes
Virginie Buisson	6	7	6
Noëlle van Lottum	73	5	2

Longest match by number of games, before the tiebreaker introduction
1972 third-round match, 56 games
Kerry Melville Reid	9	4	16
Pam Teeguarden	7	6	14

Longest match by number of games, using tiebreaker scoring
1991 second round, 46 games
Linda Harvey-Wild	79	67	11
Laura Gildemeister	67	79	9

Longest singles final match by number of games
1996 French Open, 40 games
Steffi Graf	6	6	10
Arantxa Sánchez	3	7	8

Longest doubles final match by number of games, before the tiebreaker introduction
1955, 50 games
Beverly Baker Fleitz and Darlene Hard	7	6	13
Shirley Brasher Bloomer and Patricia Ward Hales	5	8	11
This is also the longest women's doubles match in terms of games that has occurred at The French Open.

Mixed doubles

Longest match by number of games, before the tiebreaker introduction
1956, 38 games
Nicola Pietrangeli and Shirley Brasher Bloomer	9	6	6
Robert Howe and Lorraine Coghlan Robinson	7	8	2

Wimbledon

Men

The 2008 Wimbledon final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal lasted 4 hours 48 minutes and is the third longest singles final by time played.

Longest match by time and number of games
2010 first round, 183 games, 11 hours and 5 minutes. This is the longest professional tennis match ever played
John Isner	6	3	67	77	70
Nicolas Mahut	4	6	79	63	68

Longest singles final match by time played
2008, 4 hours and 48 minutes
Rafael Nadal	6	6	65	68	9
Roger Federer	4	4	77	710	7

Longest singles final match by number of games
2009 77 games This match also had the longest final in a Grand Slam final set by games
Roger Federer	5	78	77	3	16
Andy Roddick	7	66	65	6	14

Men's Doubles

Longest match by number of games, before the tiebreaker introduction
1966 first round, 98 games
Nikola Pilić and Gene Scott	19	12	6	4	9
Cliff Richey and Torben Ulrich	21	10	4	6	7

Longest match by number of games, using tiebreaker scoring
2007 third round 102 games
Marcelo Melo and André Sá	5	7(7)	4	7(9)	28
Paul Hanley and Kevin Ullyett	7	6(4)	6	6(7)	26

Longest doubles final match by number of games, before the tiebreaker introduction
1968, 70 games
John Newcombe and Tony Roche	3	8	5	14	6
Ken Rosewall and Fred Stolle	6	6	7	12	3

Women

Longest match by number of games, before the tiebreaker introduction
1948 second round, 54 games
Alice Weiwers	8	14	6
Rita Anderson	10	12	4

Longest match by number of games, using tiebreaker scoring
1995 second round, 58 games
Chanda Rubin	77	65	17
Patricia Hy-Boulais	64	77	15

Longest match by time played
1995 second round, 3 hours 45 mins
Chanda Rubin	77	65	17
Patricia Hy-Boulais	64	77	15
NB: The Bud Collins History of Tennis incorrectly lists this match as having occurred in 1996

Longest singles final match by time played
2005, 2 hours and 45 minutes
Venus Williams	4	77	9
Lindsay Davenport	6	64	7

Longest singles final match by number of games, before the tiebreaker introduction
1970, 46 games
Margaret Court	14	11
Billie Jean King	12	9

Women's Doubles

Longest match by number of games, before the tiebreaker introduction
1933 first round, 48 games
Pat Brazier and Christabel Wheatcroft	11	5	9
Mildred Nonwiler and Betty Soames	9	7	7

Longest match by number of games, before the tiebreaker introduction
1933, 38 games
Simone Mathieu and Elizabeth Ryan	6	9	6
Freda James and Billie Yorke	2	11	4

1967, 38 games
Billie Jean King and Rosemary Casals	9	6	6
Maria Bueno and Nancy Richey Gunter	11	4	2

Mixed doubles

Longest match by number of games, before the tiebreaker introduction
1967 quarterfinals, 56 games
Ken Fletcher and Margaret Court	6	7	16
Alex Metreveli and Anna Dmitrieva	8	5	14

Longest match by number of games, before the tiebreaker introduction
1949, 48 games
Eric Sturgess and Sheila Piercey Summers	9	9	7
John Bromwich and Louise Brough Clapp	7	11	5

US Open

Stefan Edberg's (pictured) 1992 defeat of Michael Chang 6–7(3–7),7–5,7–6(7–3),5–7,6–4 in 5 hours 26 minutes remains the longest match at the US Open in terms of match duration.

Men

Longest match by time played
1992, 5 hours and 26 minutes
Stefan Edberg	63	7	77	5	6
Michael Chang	77	5	63	7	4

Longest match by number of games, using tiebreaker scoring
1979 second round, 63 games
John Lloyd	5	6	7	7	7
Paul McNamee	7	7	5	6	6

Longest match by number of games, before the tiebreaker introduction
1966 third round, 105 games
Marcello Lara and Joaquin Loyo-Mayo	10	24	11	3	6
Manuel Santana and L. Garcia	12	22	9	6	2

1967 quarterfinals, 105 games
Cliff Drysdale and Ray Moore	29	8	3	8	6
Roy Emerson and Ron Barnes	31	6	6	6	2

Longest match by number of games, before the tiebreaker introduction
1969, 100 games
F.D. Robbins	22	9	6	8	6
Donald Dell	20	7	8	10	4

Longest singles final match by time played
1988, 4 hours and 54 minutes
Mats Wilander	6	4	6	5	6
Ivan Lendl	4	6	3	7	4

Longest singles final match by number of games, before the tiebreaker introduction
1949, 67 games
Pancho Gonzales	16	2	6	6	6
Ted Schroeder	18	6	1	2	4

Longest doubles final match by number of games, before the tiebreaker introduction
1946, 74 games
Gardnar Mulloy and William Talbert	3	6	2	6	20
F. Guernsey and Don McNeill	6	4	6	3	18

Women

Longest match by number of games, before the tiebreaker introduction
1898 challenge round, 51 games best-of-five-sets match
Juliette Atkinson	6	5	6	2	7
Marion Jones	3	7	4	6	5

Longest doubles final match by number of games, before the tiebreaker introduction
1920, 43 games
Eleanor Goss and Marion Zinderstein	13	4	6
Helen Baker and Eleanor "Teach" Tennant	11	6	3

Longest match by time played
3rd round, 2011. 3 hours 16 minutes
Samantha Stosur	7(7)	6(5)	7
Nadia Petrova	6(5)	7(7)	5

Mixed doubles

Longest mixed doubles final match by number of games, before the tiebreaker introduction
1959, 48 games
Neale Fraser and Margaret Osborne duPont	7	13	6
Bob Mark and Janet Hopps Adkisson	5	15	2

Davis Cup

Longest rubber by duration
1982, USA vs. Sweden. 6 hours and 22 minutes
John McEnroe (USA)	9	6	15	3	8
Mats Wilander (SWE)	7	2	17	6	6

Longest rubber by number of games (Doubles)
Doubles of the 1973 American Zone Final between Chile and the USA, 122 games
Stan Smith and Erik Van Dillen (USA)	7	37	8	6	6
Patricio Cornejo and Jaime Fillol (CHL)	9	39	6	1	3
the 39–37 second set is the longest set in Davis Cup history

Longest rubber by number of games (singles)
1982 American Zone Semifinal between Canada and Venezuela, 100 games
Harry Fritz (CAN)	16	11	9	4	11
Jorge Andrew (VEN)	14	9	11	6	9

See also

• Tennis statistics
• Shortest tennis match records
• Longest tiebreaker in tennis

External links

• BBC – Extreme tennis: the demands of a 10-hour game