Tennis coaches Andy Aitken and Ryan Trickey of Oxfordshire set a world record by playing 72 consecutive hours of tennis this week. They surpassed the previous world record (61 hours) on Wednesday. They played additional 11 hours before ending the match Thursday.
The two ended up playing 97 sets during their marathon session, which at minimum translates to 582 games. By comparison, the three-day Wimbledon match in 2010 between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut lasted 183 games. They estimated they would burn in excess of 40,000 calories, run around 70 miles and play nearly 5000 points. Yeesh!
The rules were pretty simple. They were allowed a 90-second break to switch sides every other game, and a two-minute break after every set. They also had an average break of five minutes per hour and were expected to take 30 minutes out every six hours.
If you’re wondering what would possess someone to play 72 consecutive hours of tennis, I can’t tell you. But I do know that they played for the Dan Maskell Tennis Trust charity which supports disabled tennis players. This certainly is a record that required more work than any other ones we’ve posted here at LBS, not to diminish the difficulty of scarfing an $80 hot dog.
