Record: Tennis match lasted… 64 hours

Guinness World Records has just recognized the record for the longest singles match for amateur tennis players Carlos Gomes and Wendy Thompson. This pair fought day and night for a period of… 64 hours.

Carlos Gomes (left) and Wendy Thompson (right) set a lifetime record. IOL screenshot

According to IOL, the record match between male tennis player Gomes and female opponent Wendy was played at the Constantia Tennis Club located in the west of Cape Town (South Africa). The record was set at 10:00 am on February 6, the time when both tennis players were exhausted and forced to stop the match. The pair started competing at 5:00 pm on February 3, so with the milestone ending, Gomes and Wendy set a world record for the longest tennis singles match with 64 hours.

According to South African media, the idea of ​​organizing a record-breaking tournament originated a year ago when Wendy was invited to participate in a tournament at a tennis club in Khayelitsha, Western Cape province. At the tournament, Wendy expressed concern when witnessing the poor condition of the court facilities such as: gravel court surface, torn nets... but there were many potential players.

After the tournament, Wendy, as head of the local women's association, organized several fundraising activities to help upgrade the court and set up the charity Grass Roots Tennis. During the appeal, Wendy discovered another tennis court in a similar situation in the town of Khayamandi (Western Cape). However, the 40-year-old mother's efforts could not generate enough money to upgrade it to create a good facility for young tennis players.

After several unsuccessful attempts, Wendy came up with the idea of ​​​​setting a world record to attract the attention of sponsors. The mother of three children invited Gomes (President of the Constantia Tennis Club) to play a singles match for 65 hours to set a Guinness World Record to break the previous record of 63 hours 27 minutes 40 seconds set by two German tennis players.

To do this, Wendy and Gomes experimented with a 24-hour competition last November to find out the elements needed for a long-term competition such as lip balm, massage, nutrition, etc. But according to Wendy, despite the preparation, the most important thing is the spirit of the participants towards a noble goal.

The match then took place under the witness and supervision of a representative of the Guinness World Records. “We played according to ATP regulations and Guinness approved that the couple would be allowed to rest, eat and sleep for a total of 45 minutes in a 12-hour match. So, to have a long rest period, the couple chose to play continuously for 12 hours before taking advantage of the 45 minutes to eat and sleep.

“I started to feel tired after 5 hours of fighting. My wrist was in severe pain, I was almost exhausted, I was dizzy and the most haunting time was around 2am because we both had insomnia and exhaustion. It was unimaginable because my mind was constantly fighting whether to give up or continue,” Gomes confided.

Wendy and Gomes’s unwavering determination to do good finally paid off when they stopped the match at the 64-hour mark. According to IOL, the pair’s incredible record has attracted the attention of tennis fans, business organizations and will almost certainly bring in sponsorship money to upgrade the two aforementioned courts. After the match, Wendy and Gomes were honored as heroes and suddenly became two famous figures in the world of tennis.

According to TNO