The Tennis Match That Lasted 11 Hours

Part 1: The Draw

The 2010 Wimbledon Championships draw sheet listed it as a routine first-round match. John Isner, the 23rd seed from the United States, was assigned to play Nicolas Mahut, a French qualifier ranked 148th in the world, on Court 18.

Court 18 is one of Wimbledon's outside courts — a modest venue with permanent seating for around 782 spectators, no roof, and no floodlights. It's where unremarkable first-round matches go to be played in relative obscurity.

Isner was 25 years old, 6 feet 10 inches tall, and known primarily for one thing: his serve. He could consistently hit 140+ mph first serves. His game was built around holding serve and waiting for opponents to make mistakes.

Mahut was 28, a solid grass-court player who had fought through qualifying rounds to reach the main draw. He had never gone past the third round of a Grand Slam.

Nobody — not the players, not the tournament organizers, not a single tennis commentator — anticipated what was about to happen.

Part 2: The First Four Sets

Play began on Tuesday, June 22, at 6:13 p.m. — a late start due to earlier matches running long. The first set was competitive: Isner won 6-4. Mahut took the second 6-3. They traded the next two sets on tiebreaks.

Through four sets, the match was interesting but not historic. Approximately 2 hours and 50 minutes had elapsed. In any other context, what happened next would have been the final set of an unremarkable first-round match.

Part 3: The Fifth Set Begins

At Wimbledon in 2010, the fifth set of a men's singles match had no tiebreak. This rule, unique among the Grand Slams at the time, meant the final set was played out until one player led by two games. In theory, this could go on indefinitely.

In practice, most fifth sets ended quickly. Fatigue set in. One player faltered. Breaks of serve happened naturally.

Not this time.

Both Isner and Mahut were big servers. Their service games were fortresses. And on the fast grass of Court 18, returns were difficult. Game after game, they held serve. 6-6, 7-7, 8-8, 9-9...

Part 4: Into Unknown Territory

The previous record for the longest match in tennis history was 6 hours and 33 minutes, set in 2004 at the French Open. By the time the fifth set reached 20-20, the Isner-Mahut match had already passed five hours of total playing time.

The crowd on Court 18 had grown steadily. Word spread through the Wimbledon grounds. Spectators abandoned Centre Court and Court 1 to see what was happening on the little outside court. People climbed on a hill overlooking the court — later dubbed "Henman Hill" or "Murray Mound" — to watch.

The scoreboard, a manually operated display, ran into a technical problem around 47-47. It could only display two digits per set. The operator tried various workarounds before the board simply froze. Spectators resorted to keeping score on their phones.

At 59-59, approaching 10 p.m. with light fading, the chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani suspended play. The players had been on court for over seven hours total.

Part 5: Day Two

On Wednesday, June 23, Isner and Mahut returned to Court 18. The court was packed before they arrived. BBC coverage shifted to accommodate the continuing spectacle.

They warmed up and resumed at the score of 59-59 in the fifth set. And they kept holding serve.

The physical toll was becoming visible. Both players were moving more slowly. Their between-point routines grew longer. But their serving remained ferocious — Isner was still hitting 140 mph, Mahut was consistently in the 130s.

The aces accumulated. Isner passed 100. Mahut passed 90. The previous record for aces in a single match was 51. They were doubling it — each.

At 32-32 on Day Two (the fifth set now standing at 91-91), darkness fell again. The match was suspended for a second time. Total playing time: approximately 10 hours.

Part 6: Day Three

Thursday, June 24. The third day.

The crowd was enormous. Court 18 was standing-room only, with spectators filling every available space, including the walkways, scaffolding, and surrounding courts. Players from other matches came to watch.

Isner and Mahut resumed at 59-59 (from Day One's endpoint — the Day Two suspension had occurred at 91-91, but they'd played 32 more games before stopping, reaching 91-91... actually, the running total in the fifth set was now 91-91).

The end came at 70-68. After 137 consecutive service holds in the fifth set, Isner broke Mahut's serve. He struck an unreturnable shot and collapsed to the ground, arms spread.

Mahut stood at the net, motionless, before walking to shake Isner's hand. Both players were in tears.

Part 7: The Numbers

The final statistics read like typos:

• Total match time: 11 hours, 5 minutes
• Fifth set duration: 8 hours, 11 minutes
• Fifth set games: 138 (70-68)
• Total games: 183
• Isner aces: 113
• Mahut aces: 103
• Combined aces: 216
• Previous aces record: 51 (in an entire match)
• Previous longest match: 6 hours, 33 minutes

Part 8: The Aftermath

The toll was immediate and severe. Isner was so physically depleted that he lost his second-round match the following day in straight sets, 6-7, 3-6, 2-6. He could barely move. He later described the experience as "the most physically demanding thing I've ever done."

Mahut, despite losing, became a hero in France. He received a standing ovation as he left the court and was embraced by spectators. The French press celebrated him for his dignity and endurance.

Chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani had sat in his chair for the vast majority of the 11 hours. He was given a commemorative trophy by the tournament. He later said his back and neck took weeks to recover.

Part 9: The Rule Change

The Isner-Mahut match was not the only marathon fifth set in recent memory. At the 2018 Wimbledon semifinals, Kevin Anderson defeated John Isner (again!) 26-24 in the fifth set over 6 hours and 36 minutes.

After the 2018 incident, Wimbledon acted. Starting in 2019, the Championships introduced a final-set tiebreak at 12-12. The rule was specifically designed to prevent another Isner-Mahut scenario.

The other Grand Slams followed suit. By 2022, all four majors had adopted final-set tiebreak rules. The match that can never happen again changed the sport forever.

Part 10: What It Means

The longest match is a story about what happens when two evenly matched competitors refuse to yield — and when the rules provide no mechanism for resolution.

In game theory, it's a war of attrition with no exit clause. Both players were trapped by the rules and by their own excellence. Breaking the opponent's serve would have been a relief for both — even the loser would have been freed.

The match is also a reminder that records in sports are not always set by the best players. Isner and Mahut were not the best tennis players in the world. They were two good players whose specific skill sets — massive serves, adequate returns — combined with the absence of a tiebreak to produce a once-in-history event.

Sometimes, being perfectly matched is more dangerous than being outmatched.