Why there was a professional ball change that lasted 29 minutes
Do you know Vicki Nelson-Dunbar and Jean Hepner ? But you should - because the two played a remarkable match in many ways.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: May 05, 2020, 01:36 pm
Okay, okay: it wasn't a Wimbledon final. But at least a legendary first round match at the WTA tournament in Richmond. On September 24, 1984, Vicki Nelson-Dubar and Jean Hepner set several records here that still exist today in professional tennis. Nelson-Dunbar and Hepner played ...
- the longest rally ever with 29 minutes
- in which the ball flew over the net 643 times
- in a match that lasted 6 hours and 43 minutes
- with a tiebreak that was 1 hour and 47 minutes long
"There were quite a few lobs," said Nelson Dunbar in retrospect . "I always wanted to attack, but then she played praise again." Or as Hepner put it: "I was very focused and played very consistently." At that time Nelson-Dubar was number 93 in the world, Hepner number 172.
Nelson-Dunbar won the first set 6: 4, in the tiebreak of the second round it was 11:10 for Hepner. She had set ball to compensate for when the legendary rally came. It went back and forth 642 times, but then Nelson-Dunbar took heart and went to the winner. With success. Even if she then collapsed with cramps, she could continue after a time violation. 13:11 the tie break went to her and thus the crazy match with the harmless sounding digits 6: 4, 7: 6 (11). Unthinkable if it had been a third sentence ...
"A battle of wills that real fans appreciate"
The owner of the Raintree Swim and Racquet Club, High Waters, recalls: "Many spectators came to me and said the match was ridiculous, but I stood up for them. It takes guts to do what they did. Many understand not the mental aspect of the game. It was a battle of wills that real tennis fans like me really appreciate, "he told the New York Times 25 years later .
Nelson-Dunbar reflected the famous rally after the match. "I thought I was going crazy. No matter what I did, she always brought the ball back. It took a long time before I had the nerve to come forward. Then she played too short a praise and I did I made it away - forever. "
Both of them didn't want to end up in the record books. "I wanted to get my career back on track and it was becoming more and more difficult," said Hepner looking back. "But I didn't stay on the pitch for six hours to get attention. I just wanted to win this match so much."
How did it happen that the rally was "noted"? Because there seems to be no TV recordings for this match. It is thanks to journalist John Packett. He followed the match for the local The Richmond Times dispatch . "I started counting because the rallies were so long. I thought: Who knows how long the points will be?"
Fun fact: In an interview with the NPR in 2009, Nelson-Dunbar thought it was possible that even longer rallies were part of their record match. "Most of the points were very long. There could have been some that were longer ..."