How Many Strokes Were In The Longest Tennis Match?
Contents
How many strokes were in the longest tennis match? The answer may surprise you. Follow these best practices to find out.
The History of the Longest Tennis Match
In tennis, a match is the best of three or five sets. A set consists of a sequence of games played with service alternating between games, and is won by the first player to win enough games. In the first set of the match between Isner and Mahut at Wimbledon in 2010, Isner won 6–4.
Pre-2010: Isner vs. Mahut
On June 22nd, 2010 at Wimbledon, two professional tennis players, John Isner and Nicolas Mahut, played the longest tennis match in history. The match lasted 11 hours and 5 minutes, with Isner winning 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (3), 70-68.
The first set of the match took close to 7 hours to complete. By the end of the set, both players had already played over 200 strokes each. The second set was completed in a more reasonable time of just over 2 hours. The third set was a real marathon, lasting close to 6 hours. By the end of the set, both players had played over 1,000 strokes each.
At this point, the match was suspended due to darkness. It resumed the next day, with Isner winning the fourth set in just over 2 hours. The fifth and final set lasted just over 2 hours as well, with Isner finally prevailing 70-68.
In total, the match lasted 11 hours and 5 minutes, with Isner winning 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (3), 70-68. This remains the longest tennis match in history in terms of both time and number of strokes played.
2010: Isner vs. Mahut
In 2010, American player John Isner faced French player Nicolas Mahut at Wimbledon. The match would go down in history as the longest tennis match ever played. It lasted for 11 hours and 5 minutes spread out over 3 days, with a total of 183 games played. Isner ultimately won the match 6–4, 3–6, 6–7(7), 7–6(3), 70–68.
While the total number of strokes in the match is unknown, it is estimated that Isner hit 1000 aces, while Mahut hit 103. The longest individual game lasted for 32 points and required over 20 minutes to complete.
The 2010 Wimbledon match between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut is widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis matches of all time.
The Longest Tennis Match by the Numbers
In tennis, the record for the longest tennis match is held by John Isner of the United States and Nicolas Mahut of France. The match was played at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships and lasted for 11 hours and 5 minutes, played over a total of 183 games.
Pre-2010: Isner vs. Mahut
When American John Isner and Frenchman Nicolas Mahut took the court at Wimbledon on June 22, 2010, they had no way of knowing that their match would become the longest tennis match in history. But that’s exactly what happened.
The two men played for a total of 11 hours and 5 minutes, over the course of three days, before Isner finally emerged victorious, 70-68 in the fifth set. (For reference, the longest match ever played at Wimbledon was just shy of 7 hours.)
Here are some other notable numbers from the marathon match:
– The total number of points played was 1068
– The total number of strokes hit was 2438
– The number of aces hit by Isner: 102
– The number of aces hit by Mahut: 95
– The fastest serve hit by Isner: 153 mph
– The fastest serve hit by Mahut: 149 mph
2010: Isner vs. Mahut
In 2010, American John Isner and Frenchman Nicolas Mahut played the longest tennis match in history. The first-round contest at Wimbledon lasted 11 hours and five minutes over three days, with Isner winning 6–4, 3–6, 6–7(7–9), 7–6(7–3), 70–68.
Here are some other numbers related to the match:
-Isner hit 103 aces; Mahut hit 112.
-The two men played a total of 183 games, just one shy of the record for a Wimbledon match. (Goran Ivanisevic needed only four games to beat Patrick Rafter in their 2001 third-round match.)
-The fifth set alone lasted eight hours and 11 minutes.
-A total of 1041 points were played, another Wimbledon record.
-The final game alone lasted 138 strokes.
