Top 10 Longest Tennis Matches in History

In a sport known for its grueling physical and mental demands, some matches push the boundaries of human endurance to their absolute limits. This list recounts the top 10 longest professional tennis matches in the Open Era, measured by their incredible duration. These are not just matches; they are epic sagas of willpower, attrition, and the relentless pursuit of victory.

The list is famously headlined by a match so long it broke the sport itself, a contest at Wimbledon that stretched over three days and became a global spectacle, forever changing the rules of Grand Slam tennis.

Let's relive these monumental tests of endurance.

The Top 10 Longest Tennis Matches in History

10. Novak Djokovic vs. Rafael Nadal

Duration: 5 hours, 53 minutes Tournament: 2012 Australian Open Final

Often called the greatest Grand Slam final of all time, this modern classic was a brutal, brilliant display of baseline warfare between two of the sport's titans. After nearly six hours of punishing rallies and momentum swings, Djokovic collapsed to the court in victory. The match was so physically demanding that both players were given chairs during the trophy ceremony.

9. Radek Štěpánek vs. Ivo Karlović

Duration: 5 hours, 59 minutes Tournament: 2009 Davis Cup Semifinal

A Davis Cup clash for the ages, this match featured a staggering 157 games. The big-serving Ivo Karlović fired 78 aces, but it was the crafty Radek Štěpánek who ultimately prevailed in a grueling five-setter, with the final two sets ending 16-14 and 9-7.

8. Boris Becker vs. John McEnroe

Duration: 6 hours, 21 minutes Tournament: 1987 Davis Cup

A battle of tennis legends, this marathon match saw a young Boris Becker outlast the veteran John McEnroe in a fiery and dramatic encounter. The match was a perfect showcase of their contrasting styles: Becker's power versus McEnroe's finesse.

7. John McEnroe vs. Mats Wilander

Duration: 6 hours, 22 minutes Tournament: 1982 Davis Cup Quarterfinal

The longest match of John McEnroe's storied career was this epic Davis Cup battle against Sweden's Mats Wilander. The final set alone, which Wilander won 17-15, lasted over two hours. It remains one of the longest and most memorable matches in the history of the team competition.

6. Fabrice Santoro vs. Arnaud Clément

Duration: 6 hours, 33 minutes Tournament: 2004 French Open First Round

The longest match in the history of the French Open was an all-French affair that stretched over two days. Known for his unorthodox, crafty style, Fabrice "The Magician" Santoro, eventually wore down his opponent in a bizarre final set that ended 16-14.

5. Leonardo Mayer vs. João Souza

Duration: 6 hours, 43 minutes Tournament: 2015 Davis Cup First Round

This marathon clay-court battle in Argentina became the longest singles match in Davis Cup history. Leonardo Mayer eventually won the grueling encounter, with the final set lasting an incredible 2 hours and 30 minutes and ending 15-13.

4. Kevin Anderson vs. John Isner

Duration: 6 hours, 36 minutes Tournament: 2018 Wimbledon Semifinal

This was the match that finally broke Wimbledon's resistance to final-set tiebreaks. The two big-serving giants battled for over six and a half hours, with neither able to break the other's serve in a seemingly endless fifth set. Anderson eventually prevailed 26-24, but the physical toll was so great that he had little left for the final. Soon after, Wimbledon and the other Grand Slams instituted a final-set tiebreak rule.

3. Tomáš Berdych & Lukáš Rosol vs. Stan Wawrinka & Marco Chiudinelli

Duration: 7 hours, 2 minutes Tournament: 2013 Davis Cup First Round

The longest doubles match in history was this epic Davis Cup clash between the Czech Republic and Switzerland. The Czech pair of Berdych and Rosol finally won the deciding set 24-22 in a match that showcased incredible team endurance.

2. John Isner vs. Nicolas Mahut

Duration: 11 hours, 5 minutes Tournament: 2010 Wimbledon First Round

The most legendary match in tennis history. It's a contest so long that it almost seems like a statistical error. Played over three days, the match shattered every conceivable record. The final set alone (which Isner won 70-68) was longer than any other complete tennis match ever played. Isner served 113 aces, Mahut 103—both records. The scoreboard famously broke. The match forced a re-evaluation of the sport's rules and stands as the ultimate monument to athletic endurance.

1. The Isner-Mahut Final Set

Duration of 5th Set: 8 hours, 11 minutes

To truly grasp the absurdity of the Isner-Mahut match, the final set must be considered its own entity. At 138 games, it contained more games than most professional players' entire tournaments. The sheer mental and physical fortitude required from both players to continue competing at a high level for over eight hours in a single set is something the sport will likely never witness again.

Summary Table: Top 10 Longest Tennis Matches

Conclusion

These marathon tennis matches represent the absolute pinnacle of human endurance and mental fortitude in sports. They are not just athletic competitions but psychological battles where players must dig deeper than they ever thought possible, pushing their bodies and minds to the very brink of collapse.

The legendary Isner-Mahut match stands as the ultimate testament to what humans can endure when driven by pure determination. At 11 hours and 5 minutes, it transcended sport to become a global phenomenon, capturing the imagination of millions who watched in awe as two men refused to surrender to exhaustion.

What makes these matches truly remarkable is not just their duration, but the quality of tennis maintained throughout. Players like Djokovic and Nadal in their 2012 Australian Open epic showed that even after nearly six hours of brutal baseline warfare, they could still produce moments of breathtaking skill and athleticism.

These matches have also shaped the evolution of tennis itself. The Isner-Mahut encounter and the Anderson-Isner semifinal at Wimbledon 2018 directly led to rule changes across the sport, with Grand Slam tournaments finally implementing final-set tiebreaks to prevent such extreme durations.

As we look to the future, it's unlikely we'll see matches quite as long as these legendary encounters. The sport has evolved, rules have changed, and players have become more strategic about conserving energy. But these matches will forever stand as monuments to the incredible resilience of the human spirit and the unbreakable will to compete.

In the end, these marathon matches remind us that tennis is not just about skill and strategy—it's about heart, determination, and the refusal to give up, even when every fiber of your being is screaming for rest. They are the ultimate proof that in sports, as in life, the greatest victories often come to those who simply refuse to quit.