# What is the most important tennis match ever played?

> One of these was an exhibition, one ran eleven hours, one ended a five-year reign. Importance and quality turn out to be different questions.

*By YPB Team · Published August 23, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/what-is-the-most-important-tennis-match-ever-played*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **King vs Riggs, 1973** — score 1000/1000
   The Battle of the Sexes at the Houston Astrodome, watched by 30,492 in the arena and about 50 million on US television.
2. **Borg vs McEnroe, 1980** — score 778/1000
   The Wimbledon final whose fourth-set tie-break ran to 18-16 before Borg won in five.
3. **Isner vs Mahut, 2010** — score 728/1000
   Eleven hours and five minutes across three days at Wimbledon, the fifth set finishing 70-68.
4. **Laver's 1969 Grand Slam** — score 673/1000
   The US Open final that completed Rod Laver's second calendar Grand Slam, the last by any man.
5. **Djokovic vs Nadal, 2012** — score 467/1000
   The Australian Open final that lasted five hours and 53 minutes, the longest major final ever played.
6. **Evert vs Navratilova, 1985** — score 466/1000
   The French Open final that took their rivalry to 30-30 and settled little.
7. **Federer vs Nadal, 2008** — score 466/1000
   The Wimbledon final that finished in near darkness at 9-7 in the fifth, ending Federer's five-year run on the lawn.
8. **Graf vs Seles, 1992** — score 290/1000
   The French Open final between the two women who split the early nineties, a year before Seles was stabbed.
9. **Gonzales vs Pasarell, 1969** — score 179/1000
   A 112-game first-round Wimbledon marathon that helped make the case for the tie-break.
10. **Ashe vs Connors, 1975** — score 179/1000
   Arthur Ashe's tactical dismantling of the world No. 1 in the Wimbledon final, the only one he won.
11. **Court vs Riggs, 1973** — score 179/1000
   The Mother's Day Massacre, where Bobby Riggs beat Margaret Court 6-2, 6-1 four months before meeting King.

Tags: sports, tennis, matches