Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
Wimbledon, the oldest tennis tournament in the world, has been a stage for some of the sport’s record-breaking moments. Here are some of the most remarkable records in Wimbledon history.
Djokovic defeated Federer in the record-breaking Wimbledon final with the scoreline of 7–6(5), 1–6, 7–6(4), 4–6, 13–12(3). This match was special because it had the first-ever fifth set tiebreak at 12–12 in Wimbledon history, which made it even more exciting.
The shortest Wimbledon final in the Open Era was played in 1983. Martina Navratilova beat Andrea Jaeger within 54 minutes. Navratilova had a rather easy victory over her opponent with the final score being 6–0, 6–3.
In the Open Era, the record for the most consecutive Wimbledon titles in the men’s singles is shared by two legends of tennis, while the women’s singles is held by one. In the men’s singles, they both won five titles in a row: Federer from 2003 to 2007 and Borg from 1976 to 1980. But the all-time record is held by Martina Navratilova. She has won six titles in a row between 1982 and 1987 proving that she was unbeatable on the grass court of Wimbledon.
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The longest match in Wimbledon history happened in 2010 between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut. It lasted for a whopping 11 hours and 5 minutes, stretching through three different days. It started on June 22nd and ended on June 24th; Isner won this match 6–4, 3–6, 6–7(7–9), 7–6(7–3), 70–68. This match became the longest in tennis history in terms of time and the longest fifth set in terms of the number of games (138 games).
The record of the longest set played at Wimbledon was also set during the 2010 first-round match between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut. This match is known for being the longest in history where the fifth set took 8 hours and 11 minutes alone. The total score of the fifth set was 70–68 in favor of John Isner.
The record for the longest tiebreak at Wimbledon was set in the 2023 tournament when Lesia Tsurenko and Ana Bogdan played a 38-point tiebreak in the third round. Tsurenko finally triumphed in the match with the score of 4–6, 6–3, 7–6(18). This tiebreak alone took about 35 minutes to complete and is the longest in the history of Wimbledon, as well as the longest in the history of Grand Slam women’s singles.
The youngest Wimbledon singles champion of the Open Era is Boris Becker. He bagged the Wimbledon men’s singles title in the year 1985, and he was only 17 years and 227 days. Becker won the title at the age of 17 and thus became the youngest male Grand Slam singles champion in the world at that time. He also started his successful career as a German tennis player.
The oldest Wimbledon singles champion in the Open Era is Roger Federer. He reached this feat in 2017 when he won the Wimbledon men’s singles tournament at the age of 35 years and 342 days. Roger Federer defeated Marin Cilic in straight sets to clinch his 19th Grand Slam title and his eighth Wimbledon title. It made him the oldest man to lift the men’s singles trophy at Wimbledon.