Coaches aim to break non-stop tennis WR

 

Originally published on: 05/08/11 13:59

There’s been no shortage of marathon matches in recent years – of course, we handed over 11 hours and 5 minutes of our lives (over three days) to watch last year’s duel between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut – but here’s an epic encounter that makes even the participants of ‘that match’ look a little lazy.

Next week, on Monday August 8, the White Horse Leisure and Tennis Centre in Abingdon will host a Guinness world record attempt to play tennis for 72 hours non-stop.

Andy Aitken and Ryan Trickey, two young tennis coaches from the Oxfordshire town, will begin their quest to play the longest, continuous singles tennis match at 9am on Monday. The pair, who aim to finish on Thursday August 11, are aiming to beat the current record of 55 hours, 55 minutes and 55 seconds, and have earned the support of fellow Oxfordshire resident and former world No.4 Tim Henman.

“As a professional tennis player I spent many thousands of hours on court playing and practising – although with plenty of breaks in between(!) – so I can imagine the huge commitment and motivation that both Andy and Ryan will need to complete their 72-hour non-stop marathon match,” said Henman in a message of support for the duo, adding: “There must be an easier way to break a world record guys!”

Their attempt to break the record is in aid of the Dan Maskell Tennis Trust, a charity set up in memory of ‘the voice of Wimbledon’, granting aid to individuals, groups and organisations involved in providing tennis for people with disabilities.

“I’ve been a coach for five years and regularly see how demanding tennis can be for able-bodied people,” said Trickey. “I can only imagine how challenging it must be for someone with a disability.

“Andy and I are determined to beat the world record and alongside it help raise funds to encourage and enable more people with disabilities to play such a fantastic sport.”

If you’d like to support the guys, you can visit their justgiving page at www.justgiving.com/longestsinglestennismatch, text TENNIS TO 70007 (donates £3 plus your standard text message) and track their progress on facebook or twitter @MarathonMatch72.

Now get the WORLD’S BEST TENNIS MAGAZINE here