Tennis super tiebreak: This is how the winner is decided if they get to 6-6 in the final set at Wimbledon

In most sports, there is a time limit: fans know roughly how long the event will last and can plan around it. This is true in soccer, basketball, football and boxing, to name just a few, although each of those have there own flexibilities and occasional irregularities. Then there’s tennis.

At the 2022 French Open, Camilo Ugo Carabelli ensured his place in the history books when he secured a five-set win against Aslan Karatsev in the first round of the men’s singles tournament. The Argentine’s victory over the Russian marked the first time in Roland Garros history that a match had been decided using the 10-point final-set tiebreak, also known as the ‘super tiebreak’.

Two months earlier, all four Grand Slam tournaments had elected to synchronize their rules to include such a tiebreak in the deciding set of all singles and doubles matches, starting with that year’s Roland Garros.

Tennis matches could go on forever

The sport of tennis, which has origins that date back to the 12th century in the monastic cloisters of northern France, has evolved in a number of ways over the years. A tie is not an acceptable way to end an encounter and so we hold on until there’s a winner. But in this particular racket sport, it may take several hours to see a victor proclaimed.

In the early 1950’s James H. Van Alen, an American benefactor and founder of the International Tennis Hall of Fame at the Newport Casino - the largest tennis museum in the world - proposed the tiebreak to resolve the issue of lengthy matches.

How do 10-point tiebreakers work?

The 10-point tiebreak is used in matches that reach a score of six games all in the final set. In a ‘super tiebreak’, the victor is the first player to reach 10 points with at least a two-point lead. If play continues beyond the 10-point mark, the winner will be the first player to achieve a two-point advantage.

Scoring and changing ends in a super tiebreak

When it comes to scoring, points given during a super tiebreaker have the same weight as in a regular tiebreak. The first player or team who can get 10 points with a two-point lead wins the entire match. If there is a 10-point tie during a super tiebreak, the match will continue up until a two-point lead has been achieved. So it too can go on but nothing like with the previous rule.

Another special rule during super tiebreaks is when players can change ends of the court. Players or teams change ends after the first point. Then it happens every six points. Another option for changing ends is to switch after the first point and then after every four points. This is more helpful for players especially when a tennis match is played outdoors and there are bad weather conditions.

Grand Slam uniformity follows years of tiebreak disparity

Prior to the decision to align all the slams with 10-point breakers, each of the four majors employed different ways of deciding the final set.

While the French Open did not have a final-set tiebreak until two years ago, the Australian Open had introduced the 10-point tiebreak in 2019, and the US Open had employed traditional tiebreaks in the final set since 1970, whereby the first player to reach seven points with a margin of two was declared the winner.

Isner final sets lead to Wimbledon tiebreak change

In 2019, Wimbledon introduced a seven-point tiebreak when the score reached 12-12 in the final set of all matches at the All-England Lawn Tennis Club, following a three-hour final set in the 2018 semi-finals between Kevin Anderson and John Isner, the South African eventually prevailing 26-24.

It was a second marathon match at Wimbledon for the big-serving American, whose place in history alongside Nicolas Mahut for the longest game of tennis every played is now assured to stand for all time. In 2010 on Court 18, the two players engaged in a tussle that spanned 11 hours and five minutes spread over three days, with Isner, then the world number number 10, eventually prevailing 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 7-6, 70-68, with the final set lasting eight hours and 11 minutes.

Grand Slam organizers seek “greater consistency” in rules

Explaining its March 2022 decision to implement the 10-point tiebreak across all majors, the Grand Slam Board said the move was “based on a strong desire to create greater consistency in the rules of the game at the Grand Slams, and thus enhance the experience for the players and fans alike.”

At Flushing Meadows in 2023, John Isner ended his tennis career in a five-set loss to fellow American Michael Mmoh. The final set ended in true Isner style. On a tiebreak.

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