The longest women’s tennis matches in history

All women's tennis matches are played best of three sets unlike the men's which is played best of five sets.

However, sometimes the clock can give us a better read on the full length of the back-and-forth events.

Over the years, many significantly lengthy matches have been played at each of the grand slams - the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open.

Still, the longest matches have been played at other WTA matches.

The longest women's tennis match in history took place in the first round of the 1984 Central Fidelity Banks International between Vicki Nelson and Jean Hepner, with the marathon match lasting for 6 hours and 31 minutes in Round 1, and Nelson winning 6-4, 7-6 (13-11).

The longest women's match at a grand slam unfolded at the Australian Open in 2011 between Francesca Schiavone and Svetlana Kuznetsova, where Schiavone defeated Kuznetsova over three sets with 30 games played in the final set. The match lasted 4 hours and 44 minutes

Below are the top 5 longest women's tennis matches in history:

1. 6 hours and 31 minutes - Central Fidelity Banks International 1985 - Round 1 - Vicki Nelson defeated Jean Hepner 6-4, 7-6 (13-11)

2. 5 hours and 3 minutes - ITF Athens Open 2009 - Quarter Final - Maria Elena Camerin defeated Monica Niculescu 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 7-6 (7-5)

3. 4 hours and 56 minutes - Córdoba ITF Pro Circuit W25 2021 - Round 1 - Amina Anshba defeated Laura Pigossi 7-5, 3-6, 7-5

4. 4 hours and 54 minutes - Cairo ITF Pro Circuit W15 2022 - Semi-Final - Sandra Samir defeated Tijana Sretenović 6-7 (2-7), 7-6 (6-8), 6-1

5. 4 hours and 49 minutes - Naples ITF Pro Circuit W25 2021 - Round 2 - Hanna Chang defeated Ulrikke Eikeri, 7-6 (12-10), 4-6, 6-4