It's June 22, 2010, when John Isner and Nicolas Mahut step onto the hallowed turf of Wimbledon to play their first-round match of the prestigious tournament. What the American and the Frenchman didn't know at the time is that their match would forever go down as a historic one. The match ended two days later – on June 24, 2010 – in Isner's favor. It's almost certain that that particular match between Isner and Mahut at Wimbledon 2010 will forever remain in the history books, as the rules have since changed, making it likely to remain the longest tennis match ever. Sjeng Sports takes you through this longest tennis match ever and lists some admirable facts.
Isner and Mahut smash all kinds of records
It wasn't just the longest tennis match ever; many other records were broken during this marathon match. Just how long did the longest match ever last? Brace yourself: Isner and Mahut were on court for a total of eleven hours and five minutes, excluding breaks, before the tall American was crowned the winner. That's not surprising when you consider that the set scores were 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 7-6, and 70-68 (!). While the first four sets combined didn't last all that long, it was the final set in particular that made this match the longest tennis match ever. This set, which was interrupted several times for various reasons, lasted a total of eight hours and eleven minutes. This set alone was longer than the longest ATP match ever played.
The records didn't stop there. Both Isner and Mahut expertly shattered the highest aces ever recorded for this match when it came to hitting aces. The record, 78 aces in a single match, was held by Ivo Karlovic, but both Mahut (103 aces) and Isner (113) went even further in their historic Wimbledon match. The fact that it was the longest tennis match ever was also reflected in the number of games played. With a whopping 183 (!) games played, the previous record of 'only' 112 games was shattered. To clarify: 183 games is roughly equivalent to fifteen sets.
Broken scoreboard and setting sun play a role
The longest tennis match ever was thus halted several times. After the first four sets were played, the match had to be interrupted for the first time due to the gathering dusk in London. The historic match continued the following day, but couldn't be finished on "day two" either. The reason? At 47-47 in the deciding set, the scoreboard stopped working. Apparently, the scoreboard wasn't programmed to count up to 47, so another interruption followed. After the match resumed, it was stopped a third time at 59-59 because it became too dark on the hallowed grass of Wimbledon. On June 24, 2010, on day three, the match was finally completed. Isner managed to break Mahut's serve, and after 183 games and 665 (!) minutes of play, the longest tennis match ever finally came to an end.
Change of the rules
Partly due to this match, the rules have since been changed, meaning the match between Isner and Mahut will likely remain the longest tennis match ever. For example, Wimbledon introduced a tiebreak in the deciding set in 2019 if the score was tied at 12-12. Now, when the score is tied at 6-6 in the final and deciding set, a match tiebreak is played. This tiebreak is played until someone reaches ten points first. This applies not only to Wimbledon, but also to the US Open, Roland Garros, and the Australian Open.
