The title of “The City That Never Sleeps” was well earned on Thursday. The 2022 U.S. Open quarterfinal between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner lasted until 2:50 a.m. ET, making it the latest match to ever end in the competition. Alcaraz won in five hours and fifteen minutes, 6-3, 6-7 (7), 6-7 (0), 7-5, 6-3, sending him to the semifinals.
How Many Hours was the Longest Professional Tennis Match: New Record
A new record for the U.S. Open, but not the longest tennis match ever played. That’s not even close.
The record for the longest tennis match was set after five sets, three days, and a tiebreaker that went to 138 points.
In a record-setting battle that lasted 11 hours and five minutes, John Isner defeated Nicolas Mahut in the first round of the 2010 Wimbledon men’s singles event.
The first day of play resulted in a 4-all tie after four sets, and the match was called off owing to darkness. When Isner and Mahut tied the fifth set at 47 on the second day of play, the scoreboard stopped updating.
The longest tennis matches ever played, measured in either time or number of games, are listed here. It became less likely that such records would be broken after the tiebreak was implemented between 1970 and 1973.
The French Open was the only Grand Slam tournament that used advantage set rules in the final set, which allowed for an unlimited number of games until one player was ahead by two, although the US Open, Australian Open, and Wimbledon (since 2019) all use the tiebreak.
The tiebreak will be used to decide the final set at all Grand Slam events and the Olympics beginning in 2022.
One of the most physically demanding sports, tennis can also be one of the most exciting to watch.
Players in even the shortest, most straightforward tennis matches have to cover a great deal of ground due to the court’s size.
Last Words
Tennis players are some of the fittest athletes in the world, with a typical three-set match lasting 90 minutes. At the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, American John Isner and Frenchman Nicolas Mahut put on a show of athleticism, grit, and endurance.
