The longest match in tennis history was John Isner vs Nicolas Mahut at Wimbledon in 2010. It lasted 11 hours and 5 minutes across three days, and the final set alone finished 70-68.[1][2]
- 11 hours and 5 minutes, John Isner vs Nicolas Mahut, Wimbledon 2010
- 7 hours and 2 minutes, Czech Republic vs Switzerland, Davis Cup 2013
- 6 hours and 43 minutes, Leonardo Mayer vs Joao Souza, Davis Cup 2015
- 6 hours and 36 minutes, Kevin Anderson vs John Isner, Wimbledon 2018
- 6 hours and 33 minutes, Fabrice Santoro vs Arnaud Clement, French Open 2004
- 6 hours and 31 minutes, Vicki Nelson vs Jean Hepner, Central Fidelity Banks International 1984
- 6 hours and 22 minutes, John McEnroe vs Mats Wilander, Davis Cup 1982
- 6 hours and 21 minutes, Boris Becker vs John McEnroe, Davis Cup 1987
- 6 hours and 20 minutes, Argentina vs Russia, Davis Cup 2002
- 6 hours and 15 minutes, Jose Luis Clerc vs John McEnroe, Davis Cup 1980
Longest Tennis Matches of All Time
Not quite crossing the five-hour-mark, even one of the greatest Wimbledon finals doesn’t quite level the endurance put on display in the longest tennis matches of all time.
Here’s a closer look at those unrelenting tests of stamina and skill that showcase tennis at its very finest and most competitive.
John Isner vs Nicolas Mahut, Wimbledon 2010
John Isner’s first-round win over Nicolas Mahut is the benchmark for marathon tennis. Coming into the game, the 23rd seed Isner was the strong favourite in the tennis odds to beat the French qualifier, Mahut.
The match lasted 11 hours and 5 minutes and spread over three days, which is longer than any other professional match in the sport.
The scoreline barely feels real: Isner won 6-4, 3-6, 6-7(7-9), 7-6(7-3), 70-68. The fifth set on its own outlasted the previous record for the longest match, which tells you everything about how extreme this one was.
Czech Republic vs Switzerland, Davis Cup 2013
The second-longest match by time came in Davis Cup action, when Tomáš Berdych and Lukáš Rosol beat Stanislas Wawrinka and Marco Chiudinelli after 7 hours and 2 minutes.
The tie turned into a final-set grind, ending 24-22 in favour of the Czech pair. Davis Cup matches have a habit of stretching the legs and the nerves, and this one did both in style.
Leonardo Mayer vs Joao Souza, Davis Cup 2015
Leonardo Mayer beat Joao Souza in 6 hours and 43 minutes, making it one of the all-time great Davis Cup marathons. Mayer had to dig deep after Souza pushed the match all the way to a 15-13 final set.
The match was a reminder that big-point tennis can become survival tennis very quickly. Two players can hold serve for ages, then one break-or-not-break swing decides everything.
Kevin Anderson vs John Isner, Wimbledon 2018
Kevin Anderson beat John Isner in 6 hours and 36 minutes, with the final set finishing 26-24. It was a semi-final built on power serving, patience, and a lot of standing around waiting for the next bomb of a delivery.
Anderson’s win sent him into just his second Grand Slam final. For Isner, it was another entry in a record book he seems to have personally stress-tested.
Fabrice Santoro vs Arnaud Clement, French Open 2004
Fabrice Santoro beat Arnaud Clement in 6 hours and 33 minutes at Roland Garros, recovering two match points along the way. The match finished 16-14 in the fifth set after being played over two days.
French Open crowds tend to appreciate long, tactical exchanges, and this was exactly that kind of contest: two players refusing to blink, even when their legs began to fade.
Vicki Nelson vs Jean Hepner, Central Fidelity Banks International 1984
Vicki Nelson’s 6 hours and 31 minutes against Jean Hepner stood as the longest match in tennis history for two decades.
The contest was only two sets long, but the pair stayed locked in defence so stubbornly that a 643-stroke rally became part of the story.
The match remains one of the strangest endurance tests in the sport. It was less about fireworks and more about refusal - neither player gave the other an easy point.
John McEnroe vs Mats Wilander, Davis Cup 1982
John McEnroe beat Mats Wilander in 6 hours and 22 minutes after a scare in the Davis Cup quarter-final. Wilander went two sets down, then dragged the match deep before McEnroe finally closed it out 8-6 in the fifth.
Wilander was building his reputation, while McEnroe was already a four-time Grand Slam singles champion. The match showed how quickly experience and momentum can collide in Davis Cup tennis.
Boris Becker vs John McEnroe, Davis Cup 1987
Boris Becker beat John McEnroe in 6 hours and 21 minutes in a five-set Davis Cup clash. The match featured a 15-13 second set and an 8-10 third set, which tells you the margins were tiny even before the clock became the main opponent.
Becker and McEnroe were two of the era’s biggest names, and this was the kind of heavyweight contest that leaves nobody with much left in the tank.
Argentina vs Russia, Davis Cup 2002
Argentina’s Lucas Arnold Ker and David Nalbandian beat Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Marat Safin in 6 hours and 20 minutes.
The doubles match went five sets and helped create one of the longest team contests in Davis Cup history.
Russia still won the tie 3-2 and went on to beat France in the final.[1] That is the brutal beauty of team tennis: one epic result can still sit inside a larger defeat.
Jose Luis Clerc vs John McEnroe, Davis Cup 1980
Jose Luis Clerc beat John McEnroe in 6 hours and 15 minutes in Buenos Aires, with the match interrupted by bad light before returning the next day. The fourth set alone went 26 games as Clerc pulled off the upset.
Clerc was not the bigger name, but he earned one of the most memorable wins of his career. Some tennis fans will be hoping for similar such upsets in the 2026 gentleman’s Wimbledon singles odds.
For McEnroe, it was another reminder that long matches can punish even the best.
Why Tennis Matches Can Last So Long
Tennis can keep going because there is no game clock. If players keep holding serve, the set keeps extending, and in formats without a final-set tiebreak, the finish line can drift a long way away.
Big servers are a major reason these matches become epics. When both players protect serve well, the match turns into a test of repetition, concentration, and physical recovery rather than quick momentum swings.
The sport also proves something simple but brutal about elite athletes: skill is only part of the job. The longest matches reward nerve, balance, stamina, and the ability to keep making clean decisions after hours on court.
Final-set tiebreak rules now make another Isner-Mahut-style outlier much less likely, which is why the record still feels so untouchable.
For tennis fans, that is part of the appeal. The sport can produce a clean, tidy straight-sets win one day and a full-blown survival drama the next.
