Tennis matches can be short lasting only one hour but they can also extend to over 3 hour long marathons.
Men’s average best-of-3 singles tennis match lasts about 1.5 hours and the best-of-5 match is about 4 hours. Women’s average singles tennis match lasts about 80 minutes.
What Affects The Length Of A Tennis Match?
The length of a tennis match is affected by many factors, which are listed in the next section.
Game Format
The biggest factor affecting the length of a match is its format. Game formats can be divided into singles and doubles matches. Singles matches usually last longer, as they are played in either a best-of-3 or best-of-5 format, with advantages. With advantages, the player must win the game by two points. This is why more points are played in singles than in doubles.
Doubles, on the other hand, is usually played in a best-of-3 format, with no advantages. Without advantages means that if the game is 40-40, the decisive point is played.
Level of The Tournament
The length of a tennis match is also significantly affected by the level of the tournament. The major tennis tournaments, such as the men’s Grand Slams, are played in a best-of-5 format, i.e. three sets are required to win a match. On average, a single set lasts around 40-60 minutes. As Grand Slam matches are long, the game can change course several times. As a result, the later-stage matches are usually very even and several sets need to be played to decide the winner. This is why Grand Slam matches last the longest.
The other ATP and WTA tournaments are played in a best-of-3 format and therefore these matches are shorter compared to the Grand Slams.
Court Type
The type of court is also a factor that has a significant impact on the length of matches. Depending on the type of court, the ball bounces either faster or slower. The faster the ball bounces on the court, the harder it is to get to the ball. As a result, matches played on fast courts such as grass and acrylic pitches are shorter in length.
On the other hand, matches played on clay courts are longer because the ball bounces much slower on clay than on hard courts, making it easier to get to the ball.
Level of The Players
The level of players also affects the duration of matches. In simple terms, if there is a big difference in the skill level between the players, the matches will be shorter.
Players can also have bad days, which means that they are unable to play to their normal level. In these situations, games can end very quickly if a player is beaten instantly in two or three sets, depending on the game format. On a very bad day, a player can lose without winning a single game and in these situations, the match can be over in less than an hour.
In addition to bad days, players can play with minor injuries, which can impair their ability to play. For example, Carlos Alcaraz (ATP No. 3) lost to Botic Van De Zandschulp (ATP No. 74) in straight sets at the US Open 2024 due to an ankle injury.
Player Types
Another player-related factor affecting the duration of a match is the different types of players. The types of players could be compared to a game of rock-paper-scissors. One type of player can completely cancel out another type, so the match is over quickly, whereas in a “rock-rock” situation the match can go on for a very long time.
Examples of different match pairings:
- A player who serves hard (scissors) vs a player who returns poorly (paper)
- A player who serves hard (scissors) vs a player who returns well (rock)
- Very fast and solid player (rock) vs Another very fast and solid player (rock)
In addition to game types, other player characteristics also vary. For example, some players are slow to heat up, which means they may lose a few sets at first before they get into the game’s rhythm.
A good example is Novak Djokovic, who may lose the first couple of sets but then win three sets in a row. In such situations, matches are long because all five rounds are played to decide the winner.
FAQ
How much time do players spend between points?
— 25 seconds (with a maximum of 30 seconds)
How much time do players usually take to perform a serve?
— 15 seconds
How much time is there between games in general?
— 90 seconds
What is the average duration of tiebreaks in men’s tennis matches?
— 8 minutes
Why are women’s matches shorter?
— Women’s matches do not use the best of five formats, so they are shorter than men’s matches
What is the longest tennis match ever?
— 11 hours and 5 minutes. The match was played between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut and it was played on three different days.
What is the longest point played in tennis?
— 29 minutes (the point contained a total of 643 strokes)
