The Longest Point in the History of Professional Tennis - 29 minutes, 643 shots
This week marks the 25th anniversary of an historic tennis match. At a Virginia Slims tournament in 1984, Vicki Nelson and Jean Hepner exchanged 643 shots; it remains the longest single rally in the history of professional tennis.
The 6-hour-31-minute marathon was itself the longest match in tennis history for nearly 20 years and remains the longest match completed on a single day.
The rally that put Nelson-Dunbar and Hepner in the record books came at set point for Hepner, who was ahead, 11-10, in the second-set tie breaker, which lasted 1:47 on its own…
Hugh Waters, a former tennis coach and the owner of the Raintree club, remembered: “I had a lot of people coming up to me at the tournament saying the match was ridiculous, but I always jumped on them. It takes guts to do what they did. “People don’t understand the mental aspect of the game: this was a battle of wills and real tennis fans like me could appreciate it.”
Among the astonishing elements to the match was this: If Hepner had won the epic rally, she would have forced a third set, and who knows how long the match might have lasted.
Link, via Metafilter.
Photo: Jean Hepner (L) in 1985 and Vicki Nelson Dunbar (R) in 1987.
Comment (5)
Permalink
Please share:  email
this 
|
| Neatorama Shop » Toy & Games » Anatomy Model | ||
 |
 |
|
See more Anatomy
Model »  |
||
Amazing Tennis Serve
The American tennis player Andy Roddick puts some weight behind his serve.
According to the video comments over at YouTube, this clip has been used for a Powerade commercial but someone also points out that “it happened in front of a stadium full of people, it’s not fake”.
|
Comment (9)
Permalink
Please share: email
this
|
-
Your purchase helps support the blog - Thank you!
