Isner–Mahut match at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Wimbledon 2010 first-round match

John Isner (23) vs. Nicolas Mahut (Q)
Set 1 2 3 4 5 John Isner 6 3 67 77 70 Nicolas Mahut 4 6 79 63 68
Date	22–24 June 2010
Tournament	Wimbledon
Location	London
Chair umpire	Mohamed Lahyani
Duration	11 hours 5 minutes
World rankings	John Isner: 19 Nicolas Mahut: 148
Previous head-to-head results
Mahut 1–0 Isner
John Isner
Nicolas Mahut

The Isner–Mahut match at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships was the longest tennis match ever played. It was a first-round match in the men's singles tournament. The American player John Isner, who was seeded 23rd, played against Nicolas Mahut from France. Mahut had to win special qualifying matches to enter the tournament.

The match started on Tuesday, 22 June 2010, at 6:13 pm in London. It was played on Court 18 at Wimbledon. As it got dark, play had to stop at 9:07 pm before the final set began.

The players started again on Wednesday, 23 June, at 2:05 pm. By 5:45 pm, the match had already broken the record for the longest tennis match. They kept playing until the score in the final set was tied at 59 games each. It got dark again, so play stopped once more at 9:09 pm.

The match resumed for the third day on Thursday, 24 June, at 3:40 pm. Finally, Isner won the match at 4:47 pm. The last set alone lasted an incredible 8 hours and 11 minutes!

In total, the match lasted 11 hours and 5 minutes over three days. The final score was 6–4, 3–6, 6–7, 7–6, 70–68. This added up to 183 games. It is still the longest match in tennis history, both by how long it lasted and how many games were played.

Both players set many new records during this match. They each hit over 100 aces, which are serves that the opponent cannot touch. People called it "the endless match."

Because of this match, new rules were made for Wimbledon in 2019. A special tie-break is now played if the final set reaches 12–12. In 2022, another rule change introduced a 10-point tie-break at 6–6 in the final set for all major tournaments. This means the Isner–Mahut match will likely remain the longest ever.

How the Players Got There

The match happened during the 2010 Wimbledon Championships. This big tennis event takes place every June and July. Nicolas Mahut was not ranked high enough to get into Wimbledon automatically. He had to win three qualifying matches to earn his spot.

After qualifying, Mahut was scheduled to play against John Isner in the first round. Their match was set for Court 18, which is one of the larger courts at Wimbledon.

The Match Details

How the Game Was Played

Copy of the seven-page score card from the Isner–Mahut match

The match began on June 22, 2010. In men's Grand Slam matches, the first player to win three sets wins the match. For the first four sets, if the score gets tied, a tiebreaker game is played to decide the set. However, in 2010, there was no tiebreaker for the fifth and final set at Wimbledon. This meant players had to keep playing until one player was ahead by two games.

The first four sets were fairly normal. Isner won the first set 6–4. Mahut then won the second set 6–3. The third and fourth sets were very close and both went to tiebreakers. Mahut won the third set tiebreak 9–7, and Isner won the fourth set tiebreak 7–3. This made the score two sets each. At this point, it was too dark to continue, so play stopped.

When the match started again on 23 June, it quickly became the longest match ever. Isner had chances to win the match, but Mahut kept fighting. Mahut also had chances to win points on Isner's serve. The match was stopped again because of darkness, with the score an unbelievable 59–59 in the final set. Fans in the crowd wanted them to keep playing!

During the breaks, both players tried to recover. Isner drank a special "recovery shake" and took an ice bath. His friend, Andy Roddick, even brought him pizza and chicken. Isner said he was so hungry he "could have eaten 12 Big Macs." Mahut also rested and had a massage. The next morning, both players were seen preparing to play again.

The match started for the third day on 24 June. Both players continued to hold their serves, meaning they won games when they were serving. At 68–68, Mahut had a chance to break Isner's serve, but Isner won four points in a row to hold on. Finally, at 68–69, Isner won a crucial point with a great shot. This gave him his fifth chance to win the match. He took it, winning the final set 70–68.

The whole match lasted 11 hours and 5 minutes. This new world record was much longer than the previous record, which was 6 hours and 33 minutes.

The Umpire

The person in charge of the match was the Swedish umpire Mohamed Lahyani. He later said he was so focused on the amazing match that he didn't even think about eating or taking a break. Many different linespeople and ball kids were used during the long match. At the very end, Lahyani accidentally announced the score incorrectly, but it was quickly fixed.

The Scoreboard Problem

On the second day of play, the scoreboard next to the court stopped working at 47–47. It later went completely dark. The people who made the scoreboard said it was only programmed to go up to 47–47! They fixed it for the next day. The online scoreboard also had issues, and users were asked to "please add 50 to the Isner/Mahut game score."

What Happened After

Special Awards

Players and umpire pose by the scoreboard after the match

Right after the match, both players and the umpire received special crystal bowls and champagne glasses. These were given by the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, which hosts Wimbledon. The players were interviewed on the court and took photos with the scoreboard. Mahut later gave some items from the match to the International Tennis Hall of Fame's Museum.

In July 2010, Isner and Mahut won an ESPY Award for "Best Record-Breaking Performance." This was a big honor, and Isner accepted the award for both of them.

Wimbledon also placed a special plaque on Court 18 to remember the match. Time magazine called it one of the Top 10 Sports Moments of 2010.

What the Players Did Next

As the winner, Isner had to play his second-round match the very next day, June 25. He played against Thiemo de Bakker. Isner was clearly very tired from his long match. He lost to De Bakker quickly, 0–6, 3–6, 2–6, in just 74 minutes. He didn't even hit a single ace in that match. Isner was so exhausted that he needed medical help for his neck and shoulder.

Isner was also supposed to play a doubles match, but he had to pull out because of a blister on his toe. After leaving the tournament, Isner said he just wanted to relax and do things away from tennis.

Mahut also had a doubles match scheduled. It started late on June 24 and was stopped due to darkness. It was rescheduled twice before finally being completed on June 26. Mahut and his partner lost that match.

Isner and Mahut played each other again in 2011 at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, again in the first round! It was very unlikely for them to meet so soon. Isner won that match in three sets, which only took 2 hours and 3 minutes.

How People Reacted

Many former tennis players and commentators called the match historic. They said it was unlikely to ever happen again. John McEnroe said, "This is the greatest advertisement for our sport." He felt it showed how demanding tennis is.

Other players, like Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, also praised Isner and Mahut. Federer said, "This is absolutely amazing. [...] This is beyond anything." Djokovic called both players "winners."

Some experts worried that the match might have shortened the players' careers. However, both Isner and Mahut continued to play tennis successfully for many more years. A doctor said the players risked serious health problems during such a long match. Mahut later shared that he felt sad and had a back injury for three months after the match.

Mahut even wrote a book about his experience called Le match de ma vie (The Match of My Life).

Rule Changes Because of the Match

In October 2018, Wimbledon announced a new rule change. This was partly because of another very long match Isner played in 2018. From 2019 to 2021, if the final set score reached 12–12, a tie-break would be played. This rule was first used in the 2019 Wimbledon final.

In 2022, all major tennis tournaments (Grand Slams) decided to try a new rule. Now, if the score reaches 6–6 in the final set, a 10-point tie-break is played. This means matches like Isner–Mahut will not happen again under current rules.

More Recognition

Wimbledon had planned to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the match in 2020. However, the tournament was canceled that year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, Wimbledon posted the entire match online. John Isner and Nicolas Mahut also celebrated their anniversary on social media, joking about the famous match.

Records Set

The Isner–Mahut match set at least eleven new tennis records:

• Longest match ever: 11 hours, 5 minutes.
• Longest single set: The fifth set lasted 8 hours, 11 minutes. This set alone was longer than any previous full match.
• Longest play on one day: 7 hours, 4 minutes were played on the second day.
• Most games in a set: 138 games in the fifth set.
• Most games in a match: 183 games in total.
• Most aces by one player in a match: Isner hit 113 aces.
• Most total aces in a match: Isner's 113 and Mahut's 103 combined for 216 aces.
• Most consecutive service games held: Both players held their serve 84 times in a row, for a total of 168.
• Most games won by the winner: Isner won 92 games.
• Most games won by the loser: Mahut won 91 games.
• Most points won in a match: Mahut won 502 points, Isner won 478 points.
• Most total points in a match: 980 points were played.

The previous record for games in a match was 122 games. The previous record for the longest singles match was 112 games. The previous official record for match duration was 6 hours, 33 minutes. The Isner–Mahut match broke all these records by a huge amount.

Plaque on Wimbledon Court No. 18 to remember the longest match in tennis history

How It Was Shown

In the United Kingdom, parts of the match were shown live on BBC One, BBC Two, and BBC HD. The entire match was broadcast live on the BBC Red Button service.

The commentators for the BBC were Ronald McIntosh and Mark Cox on the first day, and McIntosh and Greg Rusedski on the second and third days. This became the longest continuous commentary for a single match ever.

In the United States, the match was shown on ESPN and ESPN2.

Match Statistics

Score

	1 32 mins	2 29 mins	3 49 mins	4 64 mins	5 491 mins
John Isner (23)	6	3	67	77	70
Nicolas Mahut (Q)	4	6	79	63	68

When Each Part Was Played

All times are in British Summer Time (UTC+1)

Tuesday 22 June 2010

• 6:13 pm – The match begins on Court 18.
• 6:45 pm – Isner wins the first set 6–4.
• 7:14 pm – Mahut wins the second set 6–3.
• 8:03 pm – Mahut wins the third set 7–6, after winning the tiebreak 9–7.
• 9:07 pm – Isner wins the fourth set 7–6, after winning the tiebreak 7–3. Play stops because it's too dark. The match had lasted 2 hours, 54 minutes so far.

Wednesday 23 June 2010

• 2:05 pm – The match starts again on Court 18 for the fifth set.
• 5:45 pm – The match becomes the longest official match in history. The score is 32–32 in the fifth set.
• 9:09 pm – Play stops for a second time because of darkness. The score is tied at 59–59 in the final set. The match had lasted 9 hours, 58 minutes so far.

Thursday 24 June 2010

• 3:40 pm – The match starts again on Court 18 at 59–59 in the fifth set.
• 4:47 pm – John Isner wins the match, with the final set score of 70–68. The total match time was 11 hours, 5 minutes.

Detailed Statistics