Francesca Schiavone’s 6-4, 1-6, 16-14 historic fourth round Australian Open win Sunday over Svetlana Kuznetsova in four hours and 44 minutes set a new record for the longest women’s Grand Slam match ever, but was still not close to the longest women’s match of all-time.
That honor goes to Vicki Nelson Dunbar and Jean Hepner, who played for six hours and 31 minutes in the first round of the 1984 Virginia Slims of Richmond with Nelson Dunbar winning 6-4, 7-6 (13-11) in a match of lobs where the tie-break alone lasted 1 hour, 47 minutes and one point lasted 29 minutes.
Sorting through the most valuable of tennis volumes and record books THE BUD COLLINS HISTORY OF TENNIS ($35.95, New Chapter Press, www.NewChapterMedia.com), reveals that the Schiavone and Kuznetsova epic ranks just below the fluky Nelson-Dunbar and Hepner match as the second-longest of all-time.
LONGEST WOMEN’S MATCHES OF ALL-TIME (From THE BUD COLLINS HISTORY OF TENNIS)
6:31 Vicki Nelson Dunbar d. Jean Hepner, 6-4, 7-6 (13-11), 1984,
Richmond, Va., first round (tie-breaker alone lasted 1 hour
and 47 minutes, one point lasted 29 minutes, a rally of 643 strokes)
4:07 Virginie Buisson d. Noelle Van Lottum 6-7 (3), 7-5, 6-2, 1995
French Open first round
3:55 Kerry Melville Reid d. Pam Teeguarden 7-6 (7), 4-6, 16-14,
1972 French Open third round
The longest previous women’s match in a Grand Slam tournament was at the Australian Open last year when Barbora Zahlavova-Strycova beat Regina Kulikova 7-6 (5), 6-7 (10), 6-3 in four hours 19 minutes.
A compilation of the longest women’s matches of all-time, as it appears in THE BUD COLLINS HISTORY OF TENNIS, is listed below.
WIMBLEDON
Longest Match – Women’s Singles
3 hours, 45 minutes Chanda Rubin d. Patricia Hy-Boulais 7-6(7-4),
6-7(6-7), 17-15, 2nd rd. 1996
AUSTRALIAN OPEN
Longest Match – Women’s Singles
4 hours, 19 minutes Barbora Zahlavova Strycova d. Regina Kulikova
7-6(5), 6-7(10), 6-3, 1st rd, 2010
FRENCH OPEN
Longest Match – Women’s Singles
4 hours, 7 minutes Virginia Buisson d. Noelle van Lottum, 6-7 (3-7),
7-5, 6-2, 1st rd., 1996
US OPEN
Longest Match – Women’s Singles
3 hours, 5 minutes Sybille Bammer d. Marion Bartoli 7-6 (3), 0-6,
6-4, fourth round, 2008
The longest men’s match of all-time was, of course, the 11 hour and five minute 70-68-in-the-fifth-set win for John Isner over Nicolas Mahut last year at Wimbledon.
THE BUD COLLINS HISTORY OF TENNIS, published in a new SECOND EDITION in September of 2010, is the ultimate compilation of historical tennis information, including year-by-year recaps of every tennis season, biographical sketches of every major tennis personality, as well as stats, records, and championship rolls for all the major events. The author’s personal relationships with major tennis stars offer insights into the world of professional tennis found nowhere else.
Among those endorsing THE BUD COLLINS HISTORY OF TENNIS include the two women who hold the Wimbledon record for most total titles – Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King – who both won 20 Wimbledon titles in their careers. Said Navratilova, “If you know nothing about tennis, this book is for you. And if you know everything about tennis—Hah!—Bud knows more, so this book is for you too!” Said King, “We can’t move forward if we don’t understand and appreciate our past. This book not only provides us with accurate reporting of the rich tennis history, it keeps us current on the progress of the sport today.” Also endorsing the book is author, commentator and Sports Illustrated contributor Frank Deford, who stated, “No tennis encyclopedia could be written by anyone but Bud Collins because Bud Collins is the walking tennis encyclopedia—the game’s barefoot professor. The only thing missing about the sport from his new edition is a section about Bud himself. But everything else is there—and it’s easy to open and use for the whole family.” Said commentator Dick Enberg “Did you ever see an encyclopedia walking? That’s Bud Collins (who sometimes runs, too). Plunge into his book and swim joyfully through the history of tennis. It’s all here.”
Founded in 1987, New Chapter Press is also the publisher of “The Roger Federer Story, Quest for Perfection” (www.RogerFedererBook.com) by Rene Stauffer, “The Education of a Tennis Player” by Rod Laver with Bud Collins, “Acing Depression: A Tennis Champion’s Toughest Match” by Cliff Richey with Hilaire Richey Kallendorf, “Tennis Made Easy” by Kelly Gunterman, “Jan Kodes: A Journey To Glory From Behind The Iron Curtain” by Jan Kodes and Petr Kolar, “Boycott: Stolen Dreams of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games” by Tom Caraccioli and Jerry Caraccioli, “The Lennon Prophecy” by Joe Niezgoda, “Bone Appetit, Gourmet Cooking For Your Dog” by Susan Anson, “The Rules of Neighborhood Poker According to Hoyle” by Stewart Wolpin, “People’s Choice Cancun – Travel Survey Guidebook” by Eric Rabinowitz and “Weekend Warriors: The Men of Professional Lacrosse” by Jack McDermott, among others. More information can be found at www.NewChapterMedia.com.