Thousands have descended on the All England Club in London to spectate the world’s biggest tennis names battle it out for one of the most prestigious prizes in the sport.
So how long do tennis matches at Wimbledon take?
How long does a tennis match take?
Tennis matches can vary wildly in length depending on a number of factors – one being sets.
For men at Wimbledon and other Grand Slam tournaments, three sets are needed to win a match using a ‘best-of-five’ format, while it’s two sets for women. On average, these games last between 90 minutes and two hours.
Some tournaments, however, require players to win five sets against their opponent, leading to much longer games of around three hours on average.
Traditionally, final sets during a tie-break – where both players have won the exact same number of points, games, and sets and are on the edge of winning – have gone on until one player wins by two clear games. This means some tennis matches can go on for an extraordinarily long time.
In fact, the longest tennis match in history – between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut at Wimbledon in 2010 – lasted 11 hours and five minutes across three separate days of the tournament. The shortest Wimbledon match was in 1881, when William Renshaw defeated John Hartley in a match which lasted just 36 minutes.
To prevent matches lasting for what feels like an eternity, new rules are being trialled this year to decide a clear winner in the event of a tie-break. If the score reaches six games all in the final set, the match winner will be the first to win 10 points with an advantage of two or more points, according to The Grand Slam Board.
What time does Wimbledon start and finish each day?
The grounds at the All England Club open at 10.30am each day with a view to start play on courts 2-18 from 11.30am.
However, play starts on the show courts – Centre Court and courts 2, 3, 12, and 18 – at 1pm. The only exception for this is the championship final, which starts on centre court at 2pm.
Depending on delays caused by the weather and whether the match has been caught in a lengthy tie-break, play usually ends around 9pm. This can go on for much longer, however, with the latest tennis match at Wimbledon lasting until just after 11pm.
But organisers can forget playing any later than this – a rule on outdoor events by the local council means that matches must finish by 11pm and continue the next day.
So if you plan on sitting down to watch a match, you should set aside at least two hours of your day – but prepare for it to last much longer.
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