What does walkover mean in tennis? Definition and explanation of tennis walkover meaning and what a walkover means for tennis game!
What is a walkover in tennis? Here is the definition of a walkover in tennis and a detailed explanation of tennis walkover meaning in a game.
The tennis season has kicked off with the Australian Open, which is the first Grand Slam tournament.
The biggest tennis tournaments in 2025 are the Grand Slam tournaments Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open.
Here you can read more about the highest prize money in Grand Slam tournaments 2025.
So far we have not seen any walkover in tennis at the AUS Open. However, walkovers do occur for many reasons. Here we are going to explain the meaning of a walkover in tennis and what it does mean for a tennis game. Watch & Bet on Tennis =>
Tennis walkover meaning
A vital component of developing your game is knowing the tennis regulations. More than in recreational tennis, a few key characteristics of the game come into play as you start playing more competitive matches.
The walkover is one such instance. In tournament play, walkovers serve to transfer the match to the opposing team without either player ever setting foot on the court.
Now, let’s examine what a walkover is in greater detail and look at some of the most well-known walkovers in the world of professional tennis.
When a tennis player notifies the tournament referee before the match begins that they will not be playing in their scheduled match, it is known as a walkover.
This is not the same as retirement, which occurs when a player withdraws in the middle of a game, giving the opposition the advantage. When a player has an injury during a game and is unable to continue playing, they typically retire.
Additionally, a walkover usually results from an injury, but it can also happen when a player has problems with their tournament schedule.
Under these conditions, the injured player will notify the tournament organizer that they will not be able to play their match, and their opponent will automatically move on to the next round.
What does walkover mean in a tennis game?
In essence, a walkover occurs when a player moves onto the next round with ease and does not have to play in their planned match. This happens when their opponent has been eliminated from the competition for any reason or is incapacitated as a result of an illness or injury.
Differentiating between a walkover and a retirement is crucial. Retirement occurs when a player starts a match but is forced to stop in the middle of it because of an illness or injury, giving their opponent the advantage. Curiously, retirements are sometimes categorized as walkovers by live score apps like Google’s Wimbledon widget. Jiri Lehecka, for example, quit from the match after the first two sets in Daniil Medvedev’s Wimbledon fourth-round match against him, but Google shows the result as a “walkover.”
The only way a match can be a walkover is before it starts, as demonstrated by Rafael Nadal’s injury withdrawal from his Wimbledon semifinal matchup with Nick Kyrgios. Kyrgios was thus given a “walkover” to the Wimbledon final, when Novak Djokovic finally triumphed over him in four arduous sets.
Does a walkover count as a win in tennis?
Indeed, a walkover in tennis is a victory for the player who advances since their opponent is unable to compete. But since there was no real play, it does not count as a match played. A walkover happens when a player leaves the game before it starts for any number of reasons, such as illness, injury, or personal situations.
Official records show that the player who was given the walkover won, but no statistics such as aces, double faults, or match time are noted.
Tennis walkover vs retired?
Retirement is not the same as a walkover. When a match does not go as planned, the terms “walkover” and “retirement” are used to refer to various circumstances.
Players who begin a match but are unable to finish because of illness, injury, or other circumstances are said to have retired. After the player leaves the game, the winner is announced to be their opponent.
Retirement happens during the match, usually following the conclusion of one or more sets. To summarize, a retirement occurs during the game, whereas a walkover occurs prior to the start of the match.
Wimbledon tennis walkover Djokovic
At the French Open in 2019, Novak Djokovic was forced to withdraw from his semifinal match against Austrian player Dominic Thiem due to injury, which is another well-known instance of a tennis walkover.
Therefore, Thiem won the match by default and went on to the finals, where he won the victory. Knowing what constitutes a walkover in tennis is essential for wagering, since it applies to this and all other walkovers.
Cincinnati Open tennis walkover Sinner
Jordan Thompson pulled out of Friday’s scheduled third-round match due to a rib injury, sending Jannik Sinner to the Cincinnati Open quarterfinals.
This will give the world number one in the PIF ATP Rankings the chance to exact revenge after losing to Andrey Rublev in Montreal last week. Sinner’s three-match losing streak was ended in the quarterfinals by the World No. 6 defeating him 6-3, 1-6, 6-2.
The Lexus ATP Head2Head series is 5-3 in Sinner’s favor. In Cincinnati, Sinner defeated American qualifier Alex Michelsen 6-4, 7-5, to earn his first title since he won the ATP 500 on grass in Halle in June. Sinner qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin in November, becoming the first player to do so last week.
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