Tennis · Interesting Facts
Chapter 2: Records & Statistics
10 parts · 10 tests · 100 facts · updated 15 October 2026 · markdown
Records that read like stories: the longest match, rally and final, the shortest final, a set without a point lost, the youngest and oldest champions and the longest streaks. Each one checked to still stand.
2.21Marathons and Whitewashes
The longest match, rally and final in tennis, the shortest final of the Open Era, and a set won without losing a point.
Test 1Longest, shortest and perfectTake a test
The match ran 665 minutes, spread over three days on Court 18; the fifth set alone took 8 hours 11 minutes.
Source: Olympics.com, 'The longest tennis match: an 11-hour marathon at Wimbledon'; LTA, 'The longest match'; ESPN · recall
Isner won 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 7-6, 70-68; the fifth set alone had 138 games.
Source: Olympics.com, 'The longest tennis match: an 11-hour marathon at Wimbledon'; LTA, 'The longest match'; ESPN · recall
Isner hit 113 and Mahut 103: 216 between them, against the old record of 78 for a whole match.
Source: Olympics.com, 'The longest tennis match: an 11-hour marathon at Wimbledon'; LTA, 'The longest match'; ESPN · recall
Guinness records 32 minutes of playing time (the official clock shows 34, because of a rain break); Zvereva won 13 points.
Source: Guinness World Records, 'Shortest Grand Slam tennis final (Open Era)'; Roland-Garros, 1988 edition (rolandgarros.com) · recall
Shvedova won all 24 points of the first set, the only golden set at a major in the Open Era.
Source: WTA, 'Immaculate Shvedova unlocks historic Golden Set feat' (wtatennis.com); Guinness World Records · recall
The point took 29 minutes, at set point in a second-set tiebreak; Nelson won it and the match, which lasted six and a half hours.
Source: NPR, 'Longest recorded tennis rally remembered' (2009); The New York Times · recall
Djokovic won 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7, 7-5, finishing at 1.37 in the morning.
Source: Australian Open, '2012: the greatest tennis match of all time?' (ausopen.com); Guinness World Records · recall
29 minutes, 32 minutes, 5 hours 53 minutes and 11 hours 5 minutes.
Source: NPR; Guinness World Records; Australian Open; Olympics.com · recall
1984, 1988, 2010 and 2012.
Source: NPR; Guinness World Records; Olympics.com; WTA · recall
The board had not been programmed for scores beyond 47-47; the match went on to 70-68.
Source: Olympics.com, 'The longest tennis match: an 11-hour marathon at Wimbledon'; LTA, 'The longest match'; ESPN · recall
2.22Ages and Streaks
The youngest and oldest major champions, the longest winning runs, the longest reign at No. 1 and a record nobody wants.
Test 1Teenage champions, veterans and long runsTake a test
Chang was 17 years and about three months old; as the 15th seed he beat Ivan Lendl after cramping badly and then Stefan Edberg in the final.
Source: International Tennis Hall of Fame, inductee pages (tennisfame.com); Tennis.com · recall
Ranked 20th, Becker was not seeded, and he was then the youngest men's Wimbledon champion.
Source: International Tennis Hall of Fame, inductee pages (tennisfame.com); ATP Tour · recall
Guinness gives her age as 16 years 271 days; she beat Chris Evert in the final.
Source: Guinness World Records, 'Youngest woman to win the US Open singles'; WTA legend bio · recall
He was 37 years, 2 months and 1 day; the Australian Open still lists it as an Open Era record.
Source: Australian Open, 'Top 10 Australian Open player records that stand alone' and Ken Rosewall page (ausopen.com) · recall
The run ended in October 1977 when he retired against Ilie Nastase in protest at Nastase's double-strung 'spaghetti' racket.
Source: ATP Tour, Guillermo Vilas biography (atptour.com); Tennis.com · recall
She won the match anyway, 1-6, 6-4, 10-8.
Source: The Washington Post, 'Kournikova wins despite 31 double faults' (1999) · recall
16 years 9 months, 17 years 3 months, 17 years 7 months and 37.
Source: Guinness; Hall of Fame; Australian Open · recall
31, 46, 74 and 237.
Source: Washington Post; ATP Tour; Hall of Fame · recall
Djokovic has more weeks at No. 1 in total, but Federer's 237 in a row remain the longest single reign.
Source: ATP Tour, 'First among equals: world No. 1 record breakers'; Tennis.com · recall
2.23Serves and Aces
The biggest servers and their numbers: career aces, a wildcard's 213, a woman's 102 and the fastest serve ever measured.
Test 1Records on serveTake a test
Isner passed the Croatian's total in 2022.
Source: ATP Tour, records and player profiles (atptour.com), John Isner · recall
He finished with 14,470.
Source: ATP Tour, records and player profiles (atptour.com), John Isner · recall
That is six feet eleven inches; his serve came down from very high.
Source: ATP Tour, records and player profiles (atptour.com), Ivo Karlovic · recall
He came through as a wildcard and served his way to the title.
Source: Wimbledon.com, records and draws archive; ATP Tour, records and player profiles (atptour.com) · recall
She won the title, her fifth at Wimbledon.
Source: WTA, records and player profiles (wtatennis.com); Wimbledon.com, records and draws archive · recall
The Czech won 16-14 in the fifth set of a semi-final.
Source: Davis Cup official site, records (daviscup.com) · recall
He hit it in a Davis Cup tie against Belarus.
Source: ATP Tour, records and player profiles (atptour.com), Andy Roddick · recall
2001, 2004, 2009 and 2012.
Source: ATP Tour, records and player profiles (atptour.com); WTA, records and player profiles (wtatennis.com) · recall
78, 102 and 213.
Source: ATP Tour, records and player profiles (atptour.com); WTA, records and player profiles (wtatennis.com) · recall
The Australian's serve was clocked at 263 km/h.
Source: ATP Tour, records and player profiles (atptour.com), Sam Groth · recall
2.24Doubles Records
Twins with 16 majors, the Woodies, the 109-match run and the Wimbledon record that passed from Ryan to King.
Test 1Pairs and partnersTake a test
Their last came at the 2014 US Open.
Source: ATP Tour, records and player profiles (atptour.com), Bob and Mike Bryan · recall
A left- and right-handed pair covers both corners with forehands.
Source: ATP Tour, records and player profiles (atptour.com), Bob and Mike Bryan · recall
The Australians won six Wimbledon doubles titles together.
Source: ATP Tour, records and player profiles (atptour.com); International Tennis Hall of Fame, inductee profiles (tennisfame.com) · recall
She reached the singles final twice and lost both times.
Source: Wimbledon.com, records and draws archive; International Tennis Hall of Fame, inductee profiles (tennisfame.com), Elizabeth Ryan · recall
King won the women's doubles with Martina Navratilova for her 20th Wimbledon title.
Source: Wimbledon.com, records and draws archive; International Tennis Hall of Fame, inductee profiles (tennisfame.com) · recall
1979, 1983, 2003 and 2014.
Source: Wimbledon.com, records and draws archive; ATP Tour, records and player profiles (atptour.com); WTA, records and player profiles (wtatennis.com) · recall
16, 20, 61 and 109.
Source: Wimbledon.com, records and draws archive; ATP Tour, records and player profiles (atptour.com); WTA, records and player profiles (wtatennis.com) · recall
2.25Calendar Grand Slams
All four majors in one year: the singles pioneers, the doubles and mixed pairs, a junior and a wheelchair champion.
Test 1Four majors in a seasonTake a test
Budge won the Australian, French, Wimbledon and US titles in one season.
Source: International Tennis Hall of Fame, inductee profiles (tennisfame.com), Don Budge · recall
She was 18 when she completed it.
Source: International Tennis Hall of Fame, inductee profiles (tennisfame.com), Maureen Connolly · recall
It was the first by a woman in the Open Era.
Source: International Tennis Hall of Fame, inductee profiles (tennisfame.com), Margaret Court · recall
The Australians won all four majors together that year.
Source: International Tennis Hall of Fame, inductee profiles (tennisfame.com), Frank Sedgman · recall
She won the Australian Open with Mirjana Lucic and the other three with Jana Novotna.
Source: WTA, records and player profiles (wtatennis.com); International Tennis Hall of Fame, inductee profiles (tennisfame.com) · recall
He later won six major singles titles as a man.
Source: ITF, wheelchair and junior records (itftennis.com); International Tennis Hall of Fame, inductee profiles (tennisfame.com) · recall
She did it in the same calendar year, a Golden Slam.
Source: ITF, wheelchair and junior records (itftennis.com), Diede de Groot · recall
1938, 1953 and 1970.
Source: International Tennis Hall of Fame, inductee profiles (tennisfame.com) · recall
1951, 1963, 1998 and 2021.
Source: International Tennis Hall of Fame, inductee profiles (tennisfame.com); ITF, wheelchair and junior records (itftennis.com) · recall
It was the first calendar Slam in mixed doubles.
Source: International Tennis Hall of Fame, inductee profiles (tennisfame.com), Margaret Court · recall
2.26Davis Cup Records
The record-holder from Italy, the longest singles and doubles, red shirts in Chile and late first titles.
Test 1Records of the team cupTake a test
He played 164 rubbers in all, from 1954 to 1972.
Source: Davis Cup official site, records (daviscup.com), records · recall
He also played more ties than anyone: 66.
Source: Davis Cup official site, records (daviscup.com), records · recall
McEnroe won 9-7, 6-2, 15-17, 3-6, 8-6 in St. Louis.
Source: Davis Cup official site, records (daviscup.com) · recall
Berdych and Rosol beat Chiudinelli and Wawrinka 24-22 in the fifth set.
Source: Davis Cup official site, records (daviscup.com) · recall
Adriano Panatta led the team; Pietrangeli was the captain.
Source: Davis Cup official site, records (daviscup.com) · recall
Argentina came from 2-1 down to beat Croatia in Zagreb.
Source: Davis Cup official site, records (daviscup.com) · recall
Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka led the team.
Source: Davis Cup official site, records (daviscup.com) · recall
1976, 2000, 2002 and 2014.
Source: Davis Cup official site, records (daviscup.com) · recall
1982, 2009, 2013 and 2016.
Source: Davis Cup official site, records (daviscup.com) · recall
Panatta and Bertolucci chose red to protest against Pinochet's government, which many had wanted Italy to boycott.
Source: Davis Cup official site, records (daviscup.com); Italian Tennis Federation (fitp.it) · recall
2.27Rankings Records
The longest runs at No. 1, the youngest leaders, a No. 1 without a major and the shortest reign of all.
Test 1Life at the topTake a test
Roger Federer passed it on the way to 237.
Source: ATP Tour, records and player profiles (atptour.com), rankings history · recall
Graf's run began in 1987; Serena equalled it in 2016.
Source: WTA, records and player profiles (wtatennis.com), rankings history · recall
She was 16 years and six months old.
Source: WTA, records and player profiles (wtatennis.com), rankings history · recall
The Chilean reached one major final, in Australia in 1998.
Source: ATP Tour, records and player profiles (atptour.com), Marcelo Rios · recall
He was the first British player to reach No. 1 on the computer rankings.
Source: ATP Tour, records and player profiles (atptour.com), Andy Murray · recall
Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Murray held No. 1 between them from February 2004.
Source: ATP Tour, records and player profiles (atptour.com), rankings history · recall
He passed Lleyton Hewitt, who was 20 in 2001.
Source: ATP Tour, records and player profiles (atptour.com), Carlos Alcaraz · recall
1974, 1997, 1998 and 2022.
Source: ATP Tour, records and player profiles (atptour.com); WTA, records and player profiles (wtatennis.com) · recall
160, 186 and 237 weeks.
Source: ATP Tour, records and player profiles (atptour.com); WTA, records and player profiles (wtatennis.com) · recall
Pete Sampras took the top spot back the following week.
Source: ATP Tour, records and player profiles (atptour.com), rankings history · recall
2.28Prize Money Milestones
From £2,000 at the first open Wimbledon to $6 million in Riyadh: the cheques that marked each era.
Test 1Money through the yearsTake a test
The women's champion received £750.
Source: Wimbledon.com, records and draws archive, prize money history · recall
He had won his second calendar Grand Slam two years earlier.
Source: International Tennis Hall of Fame, inductee profiles (tennisfame.com), Rod Laver · recall
Ashe took only expenses; Okker, a registered player, could take the money.
Source: US Open official site, history (usopen.org); International Tennis Hall of Fame, inductee profiles (tennisfame.com) · recall
Pete Sampras won it; the event ran until 1999.
Source: ITF, wheelchair and junior records (itftennis.com); ATP Tour, records and player profiles (atptour.com) · recall
It was played indoors in December, open to the best performers at the majors.
Source: ITF, wheelchair and junior records (itftennis.com) · recall
Jannik Sinner won it; it was the biggest prize in tennis history.
Source: ATP Tour, records and player profiles (atptour.com) news, 'Sinner wins Six Kings Slam' (2024) · recall
The men's and women's champions are paid the same.
Source: Wimbledon.com, records and draws archive, prize money 2024 · recall
£2,000, $14,000, $2 million and $6 million.
Source: Wimbledon.com, records and draws archive; usopen.org; ITF, wheelchair and junior records (itftennis.com); ATP Tour, records and player profiles (atptour.com) · recall
1971, 1990, 2007 and 2024.
Source: International Tennis Hall of Fame, inductee profiles (tennisfame.com); ITF, wheelchair and junior records (itftennis.com); Wimbledon.com, records and draws archive · recall
King won the singles for the third year in a row.
Source: Wimbledon.com, records and draws archive, prize money history · recall
2.29Finals That Turned
Saved championship points, comebacks from two sets down, a final in the dark and the longest final by games.
Test 1Great comebacksTake a test
Federer led 40-15 on serve and could not close it out.
Source: Wimbledon.com, records and draws archive, 2019 gentlemen's final · recall
The 12-all tiebreak had been brought in that year.
Source: Wimbledon.com, records and draws archive, 2019 gentlemen's final · recall
Rain delays stretched the day; Centre Court had no roof or lights then.
Source: Wimbledon.com, records and draws archive, 2008 gentlemen's final · recall
It was Lendl's first major title.
Source: Roland-Garros official site, history (rolandgarros.com) · recall
He beat his fellow Argentine Guillermo Coria 8-6 in the fifth set.
Source: Roland-Garros official site, history (rolandgarros.com) · recall
It took him to 21 major titles at the time.
Source: Australian Open official site (ausopen.com) · recall
Federer beat Andy Roddick 5-7, 7-6, 7-6, 3-6, 16-14.
Source: Wimbledon.com, records and draws archive, 2009 gentlemen's final · recall
1984, 2004, 2019 and 2022.
Source: Wimbledon.com, records and draws archive; rolandgarros.com; ausopen.com · recall
62, 68 and 77 games.
Source: Wimbledon.com, records and draws archive · recall
It was Nadal's first Wimbledon title, ending Federer's run of five.
Source: Wimbledon.com, records and draws archive, 2008 gentlemen's final · recall
2.30Unbeaten Runs
The longest winning streaks on one court or one surface, and the players who finally ended them.
Test 1Streaks on grass and clayTake a test
The run began in 1976 and covered five titles.
Source: Wimbledon.com, records and draws archive; International Tennis Hall of Fame, inductee profiles (tennisfame.com), Bjorn Borg · recall
It ended in the 2008 Wimbledon final.
Source: ATP Tour, records and player profiles (atptour.com), Roger Federer · recall
Nadal's run had begun in April 2005.
Source: ATP Tour, records and player profiles (atptour.com), Rafael Nadal · recall
He won the title 14 times between 2005 and 2022.
Source: Roland-Garros official site (rolandgarros.com) · recall
He won eight of them.
Source: ATP Tour, records and player profiles (atptour.com), Roger Federer · recall
Evert had not lost a clay-court match since August 1973.
Source: WTA, records and player profiles (wtatennis.com); International Tennis Hall of Fame, inductee profiles (tennisfame.com), Chris Evert · recall
41, 65, 81 and 125 matches.
Source: ATP Tour, records and player profiles (atptour.com); WTA, records and player profiles (wtatennis.com); Wimbledon.com, records and draws archive · recall
1973, 1976, 2003 and 2005.
Source: ATP Tour, records and player profiles (atptour.com); WTA, records and player profiles (wtatennis.com); Wimbledon.com, records and draws archive · recall
She won 125 clay-court matches in a row.
Source: WTA, records and player profiles (wtatennis.com); International Tennis Hall of Fame, inductee profiles (tennisfame.com), Chris Evert · recall
Sources
Primary/official sources only, no Wikipedia citations: Guinness World Records, the International Tennis Hall of Fame, the ATP and WTA, the Australian Open and Roland-Garros, Olympics.com, NPR, The Washington Post. Every record checked to still stand as of October 2026. Title counts and total weeks at No. 1 are asked in Knowledge Testing and left out on purpose; the 'longest tiebreak' is left out because its record is disputed.
- Davis Cup official site, records (daviscup.com)8
- Olympics.com, 'The longest tennis match: an 11-hour marathon at Wimbledon'; LTA, 'The longest match'; ESPN4
- ATP Tour, records and player profiles (atptour.com); WTA, records and player profiles (wtatennis.com)4
- Wimbledon.com, records and draws archive3
- ATP Tour, records and player profiles (atptour.com), rankings history3
- ATP Tour, records and player profiles (atptour.com), John Isner2
- ATP Tour, records and player profiles (atptour.com), Bob and Mike Bryan2
- Wimbledon.com, records and draws archive; International Tennis Hall of Fame, inductee profiles (tennisfame.com)2
- Wimbledon.com, records and draws archive; ATP Tour, records and player profiles (atptour.com); WTA, records and player profiles (wtatennis.com)2
- WTA, records and player profiles (wtatennis.com); International Tennis Hall of Fame, inductee profiles (tennisfame.com)2
- International Tennis Hall of Fame, inductee profiles (tennisfame.com), Margaret Court2
- Davis Cup official site, records (daviscup.com), records2
- WTA, records and player profiles (wtatennis.com), rankings history2
- Wimbledon.com, records and draws archive, prize money history2
- Wimbledon.com, records and draws archive, 2019 gentlemen's final2
- Wimbledon.com, records and draws archive, 2008 gentlemen's final2
- Roland-Garros official site, history (rolandgarros.com)2
- ATP Tour, records and player profiles (atptour.com), Roger Federer2
- WTA, records and player profiles (wtatennis.com); International Tennis Hall of Fame, inductee profiles (tennisfame.com), Chris Evert2
- ATP Tour, records and player profiles (atptour.com); WTA, records and player profiles (wtatennis.com); Wimbledon.com, records and draws archive2
- Guinness World Records, 'Shortest Grand Slam tennis final (Open Era)'; Roland-Garros, 1988 edition (rolandgarros.com)1
- WTA, 'Immaculate Shvedova unlocks historic Golden Set feat' (wtatennis.com); Guinness World Records1
- NPR, 'Longest recorded tennis rally remembered' (2009); The New York Times1
- Australian Open, '2012: the greatest tennis match of all time?' (ausopen.com); Guinness World Records1
- NPR; Guinness World Records; Australian Open; Olympics.com1
- NPR; Guinness World Records; Olympics.com; WTA1
- International Tennis Hall of Fame, inductee pages (tennisfame.com); Tennis.com1
- International Tennis Hall of Fame, inductee pages (tennisfame.com); ATP Tour1
- Guinness World Records, 'Youngest woman to win the US Open singles'; WTA legend bio1
- Australian Open, 'Top 10 Australian Open player records that stand alone' and Ken Rosewall page (ausopen.com)1
- International Tennis Hall of Fame, inductee pages (tennisfame.com)1
- ATP Tour, Guillermo Vilas biography (atptour.com); Tennis.com1
- The Washington Post, 'Kournikova wins despite 31 double faults' (1999)1
- Guinness; Hall of Fame; Australian Open1
- Washington Post; ATP Tour; Hall of Fame1
- ATP Tour, 'First among equals: world No. 1 record breakers'; Tennis.com1
- ATP Tour, records and player profiles (atptour.com), Ivo Karlovic1
- Wimbledon.com, records and draws archive; ATP Tour, records and player profiles (atptour.com)1
- WTA, records and player profiles (wtatennis.com); Wimbledon.com, records and draws archive1
- ATP Tour, records and player profiles (atptour.com), Andy Roddick1
- ATP Tour, records and player profiles (atptour.com), Sam Groth1
- ATP Tour, records and player profiles (atptour.com); International Tennis Hall of Fame, inductee profiles (tennisfame.com)1
- Wimbledon.com, records and draws archive; International Tennis Hall of Fame, inductee profiles (tennisfame.com), Elizabeth Ryan1
- International Tennis Hall of Fame, inductee profiles (tennisfame.com), Don Budge1
- International Tennis Hall of Fame, inductee profiles (tennisfame.com), Maureen Connolly1
- International Tennis Hall of Fame, inductee profiles (tennisfame.com), Frank Sedgman1
- ITF, wheelchair and junior records (itftennis.com); International Tennis Hall of Fame, inductee profiles (tennisfame.com)1
- ITF, wheelchair and junior records (itftennis.com), Diede de Groot1
- International Tennis Hall of Fame, inductee profiles (tennisfame.com)1
- International Tennis Hall of Fame, inductee profiles (tennisfame.com); ITF, wheelchair and junior records (itftennis.com)1
- Davis Cup official site, records (daviscup.com); Italian Tennis Federation (fitp.it)1
- ATP Tour, records and player profiles (atptour.com), Marcelo Rios1
- ATP Tour, records and player profiles (atptour.com), Andy Murray1
- ATP Tour, records and player profiles (atptour.com), Carlos Alcaraz1
- International Tennis Hall of Fame, inductee profiles (tennisfame.com), Rod Laver1
- US Open official site, history (usopen.org); International Tennis Hall of Fame, inductee profiles (tennisfame.com)1
- ITF, wheelchair and junior records (itftennis.com); ATP Tour, records and player profiles (atptour.com)1
- ITF, wheelchair and junior records (itftennis.com)1
- ATP Tour, records and player profiles (atptour.com) news, 'Sinner wins Six Kings Slam' (2024)1
- Wimbledon.com, records and draws archive, prize money 20241
- Wimbledon.com, records and draws archive; usopen.org; ITF, wheelchair and junior records (itftennis.com); ATP Tour, records and player profiles (atptour.com)1
- International Tennis Hall of Fame, inductee profiles (tennisfame.com); ITF, wheelchair and junior records (itftennis.com); Wimbledon.com, records and draws archive1
- Australian Open official site (ausopen.com)1
- Wimbledon.com, records and draws archive, 2009 gentlemen's final1
- Wimbledon.com, records and draws archive; rolandgarros.com; ausopen.com1
- Wimbledon.com, records and draws archive; International Tennis Hall of Fame, inductee profiles (tennisfame.com), Bjorn Borg1
- ATP Tour, records and player profiles (atptour.com), Rafael Nadal1
- Roland-Garros official site (rolandgarros.com)1