Dead rubber is a term used in sporting parlance to describe a match in a series where the series result has already been decided by earlier matches. The dead rubber match therefore has no effect on the winner and loser of the series, other than the total number of matches won and lost and the statistics of the players.
The term is used in Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup tennis, as well as in international cricket, field hockey, the FIFA World Cup, UEFA Champions League, Rugby World Cup and the State of Origin series.
For example, in a Davis Cup series, each pair of competing countries play five matches (rubbers) where the winner is decided on a best-of-five basis. Once one team has reached three victories, the remaining match or matches are said to be dead rubbers. International Tennis Federation's last revision of the competition policies on dead rubbers is from 2011. [1]
Since the result of a dead rubber has no impact in determining the winner of a series, dead rubbers are typically played in a less intense atmosphere, often allowing the team that has lost the series to obtain a match win. Sometimes, second-string players who have not played many matches in top-level competition are given the opportunity to play a dead rubber in order to gain experience. This practice makes completing a clean sweep of a series less likely, so in Chinese, dead rubber is often called 'match for dignity' (Chinese: 荣誉之战), mostly for compititors that lost chance to advance.
Lleyton Glynn Hewitt is an Australian former world No. 1 tennis player. He is the most recent Australian man to win a major singles title, at the 2001 US Open and 2002 Wimbledon Championships. In November 2001, Hewitt became, at the time, the youngest man to reach No. 1 in the ATP singles rankings, at the age of 20 years, 8 months and 26 days. In total, he won 30 singles titles and 3 doubles titles, including the 2000 US Open men's doubles title, back-to-back Tour Finals titles in 2001 and 2002, and the Davis Cup with Australia in 1999 and 2003. Between 1997 and 2016, Hewitt contested a record twenty consecutive Australian Open men's singles tournaments, his best result being runner-up in 2005. He was also the runner-up at the 2004 US Open.
Table tennis is a racket sport derived from tennis but distinguished by its playing surface being atop a stationary table, rather than the court on which players stand. Either individually or in teams of two, players take alternating turns returning a light, hollow ball over the table's net onto the opposing half of the court using small rackets until they fail to do so, which results in a point for the opponent. Play is fast, requiring quick reaction and constant attention, and is characterized by an emphasis on spin, which can affect the ball's trajectory more than in other ball sports.
A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from over 150 competing countries, making it the world's largest annual team sporting competition. It is described by the organisers as the "World Cup of Tennis", and the winners are referred to as the World Champions. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Great Britain and the United States. By 2023, 155 nations entered teams into the competition.
Carlos Moyá Llompart is a Spanish former world No. 1 tennis player. He is the 1998 French Open singles champion and the runner-up at the 1997 Australian Open. In 2004, he was part of his country's winning Davis Cup team. He has been Rafael Nadal's primary coach since 2016.
David Pablo Nalbandian is an Argentine former professional tennis player. He reached his highest ranking in singles of world No. 3 in March 2006, during a career that stretched from 2000 to 2013. Nalbandian was runner-up in the singles event at the 2002 Wimbledon Championships. During his career, he won 11 singles titles, including the Tennis Masters Cup in 2005 and two Masters 1000 tournaments. Nalbandian is the only Argentine man in history to reach the semifinals or better at all four majors and to reach the Wimbledon final. He was a member of the Argentinian Davis Cup team who reached the finals of the World Group in 2006, 2008 and 2011. Nalbandian played right-handed with a two-handed backhand, which was known for being a devastating shot. Since his retirement, Nalbandian has taken up the sport of rally racing and has competed in Rally Argentina.
This page is a glossary of tennis terminology.
Radek Štěpánek is a Czech former professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking was world No. 8 and best doubles ranking was world No. 4. Štěpánek's biggest achievements are reaching two Masters 1000 event finals and the quarterfinals of Wimbledon in 2006, as well as winning the deciding match for Czech Republic's Davis Cup winning team in 2012 and again in 2013. In doubles, he won his first Grand Slam title at the 2012 Australian Open, along with Indian partner Leander Paes, defeating the Bryan Brothers in the final. Paes and Štěpánek also won the men's doubles title at the 2013 US Open, defeating Bruno Soares and Alexander Peya in the final. In November 2017, he became a coach of Novak Djokovic and in May 2019, he joined Andre Agassi as part of Grigor Dimitrov's coaching staff.
Frank Russell Dancevic is a retired Canadian professional tennis player. He first became the country's top singles player, according to ATP rankings, on February 10, 2003, as an 18-year-old, and remained so from January 30, 2006, until June 20, 2010. Dancevic has reached two ATP singles finals, the quarterfinals of the 2007 Montreal Masters and achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 65 in September 2007.
Andreas "Andy" Ram is a retired Israeli professional tennis player. He was primarily a doubles player, and competed in three Olympics.
José Javier "Chucho" Acasuso is a former professional male tennis player from Argentina. Like many of his fellow countrymen, he favoured clay. He was known for his strong serve and his hard groundstrokes off both sides. His clothes sponsor was Topper and his racquet sponsor Head.
The Italy men's national tennis team represents Italy in Davis Cup tennis competition and is governed by the Italian Tennis Federation. Italy is the reigning champions, claiming the Davis Cup in 2023. It is two-time champions overall, also winning in 1976, and finishing as runners-up six times. Nicola Pietrangeli is one of Italy's most decorated players, featuring in all major records for the team. He holds the record for most Davis Cup ties, most overall wins, most singles wins, most doubles wins, and most years played.
The Lithuania men's national tennis team represents Lithuania in Davis Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Lithuanian Tennis Association.
The Russia women's national tennis team represented Russia in Billie Jean King Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Russian Tennis Federation. They compete in the World Group. Following the 2020 ban of Russia by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), it competed and won the 2020–21 Billie Jean King Cup under the RTF flag and name. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the International Tennis Federation suspended Russia from Billie Jean King Cup competitions.
Viktor Troicki is a Serbian former professional tennis player. He won his first ATP singles title at the 2010 Kremlin Cup, and his second and third ATP singles titles at the 2015 and 2016 Apia International Sydney. His biggest achievements were a career-high singles ranking of world No. 12 and winning the deciding rubber in Serbia's Davis Cup final against France in 2010. Since then, in every Davis Cup he attended, he has contributed to Serbia reaching a quarterfinal or better. He is known for serving a 12-month ban for an anti-doping rule violation in 2013–14 for missing a blood test. By winning the inaugural ATP Cup in 2020, Troicki became the first player in tennis Open Era history to win all three major team competitions. In December 2020, Troicki was appointed captain of the Serbian team for the Davis Cup and ATP Cup.
Ričardas Berankis is a Lithuanian professional tennis player. He is the first and only Lithuanian to enter the ATP top 50 rankings, making him the highest ranked Lithuanian tennis player of all time. Berankis has reached two finals on the ATP World Tour, at the Los Angeles Open in 2012 and Kremlin Cup in 2017. He is also a prominent member of the Lithuania Davis Cup team.
Jamie Baker is a retired British professional male tennis player, who was British No. 2 in 2008.
James Ward is a British former professional tennis player. He is a Davis Cup champion and former British No. 2.
Colin Fleming is a British retired professional tennis player who specialised in doubles.
The 2013 ATP World Tour was the global elite professional tennis circuit organized by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for the 2013 tennis season. The 2013 ATP World Tour calendar comprises the Grand Slam tournaments, the ATP World Tour Masters 1000, the ATP World Tour 500 series, the ATP World Tour 250 series, the Davis Cup and the ATP World Tour Finals. Also included in the 2013 calendar is the Hopman Cup, which was organized by the ITF and does not distribute ranking points.