Double fault (tennis)

In tennis, if the serving player makes two mistakes in the same point, it is called a double fault, and they lose the point and the point is awarded to their opponent. ^[1]

Amateur Era singles records

Gerald Patterson allegedly holds the record for the most double faults committed in a Grand Slam final: he committed 27 double faults in a 71-game match against John Hawkes in the 1927 Australian Championships, but still managed to clinch the victory. ^[2]

At the 1957 Wimbledon Championships, Maria de Amorin committed 17 double faults in a row in her second-round encounter against Berna Thung. De Amorin took a set off her opponent, but eventually lost the match. ^[3]

Open Era singles records

Double faults have been officially recorded by the top-level professional tennis circuits since 1991. ^[4]

Only main draw singles matches are included here.

Key

W

F

SF

QF

#R

RR

Q#

P#

DNQ

A

Z#

PO

G

S

B

NMS

NTI

P

NH

(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; (NMS) not a Masters tournament; (NTI) not a Tier I tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

ATP Tour

Alexander Bublik is one of only three players to have committed more than 25 double faults in a Grand Slam match.

Among all players, active or retired, the worst average of double faults per match, shared between Henrik Holm and Radomír Vašek, is 7.2, while Gilbert Schaller has the best average, at 1.0. ^[5]

Most double faults in a match

#	Player	W/L	Opponent	Round	Event	Sets	Surface	Ref.
30	Marc Rosset	L	Arnaud Clément	QF	2001 Davis Cup	5	Carpet (i)	[6]
27	Goran Ivanišević	L	Leander Paes	PO	1995 Davis Cup	5	Grass	[7]
26	Marc Rosset	L	Michael Joyce	1R	1995 Wimbledon	4	Grass	[8]
	Alexander Bublik	W	Thomas Fabbiano	2R	2019 US Open	5	Hard	[9]
	Pierre-Hugues Herbert	L	Pablo Andújar	1R	2021 Wimbledon	5	Grass	[10]

Most double faults in a three-setter

#	Player	W/L	Opponent	Round	Event	Surface	Ref.
25	Maxime Cressy	L	Felix Auger-Aliassime	1R	2023 Dubai	Hard	[11]

Most double faults in a two-setter

#	Player	W/L	Opponent	Round	Event	Surface	Ref.
16	Guillermo Coria	L	Alessio di Mauro	1R	2006 Acapulco	Clay	[12]

Most consecutive double faults

#	Player	W/L	Opponent	Round	Event	Surface	Ref.
5	Greg Rusedski	W	Mikhail Youzhny	1R	2006 Miami	Hard	[13]

Committing four consecutive double faults in a single game

Player	W/L	Opponent	Round	Event	Surface	Ref.
Boris Becker	W	Jean-Philippe Fleurian	SF	1995 Hopman Cup	Hard	[14]
Cédric Pioline	L	Vladimir Voltchkov	2R	2000 Wimbledon	Grass	[15]
Guillermo Coria	W	Nicolas Kiefer	3R	2006 Monte Carlo	Clay	[16]
Fernando Verdasco	L	Teymuraz Gabashvili	2R	2014 Australian Open	Hard	[17]
Mischa Zverev	L	Grigor Dimitrov	2R	2017 Montreal	Hard	[18]
Benoît Paire	L	Fabio Fognini	RR	2021 ATP Cup	Hard	[19]
Maxime Cressy	W	Geoffrey Blancaneaux	1R	2023 Marseille	Hard (i)	[20]

WTA Tour

Anna Kournikova holds the record for the most double faults in a match with 31, in a clash against Miho Saeki that has been labeled as "one of most feeble and unintentionally comical matches of all time". ^[21]

Most double faults in a match

#	Player	W/L	Opponent	Round	Event	Sets	Surface	Ref.
31	Anna Kournikova	W	Miho Saeki	2R	1999 Australian Open	3	Hard	[22]
28	Raffaella Reggi	L	Helen Kelesi	QF	1988 Rome	2	Clay	[23] [24]
	Jelena Dokic	L	Julia Schruff	1R	2006 Auckland	3	Hard	[25]
27	Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova	L	Galina Voskoboeva	QF	2011 Baku	3	Hard	[26]
21	Coco Gauff	L	Aryna Sabalenka	SF	2024 Wuhan	3	Hard	[27]

Most double faults in a game

#	Player	W/L	Opponent	Round	Event	Sets	Surface	Ref.
7	Jeļena Ostapenko	W	Alison Riske	2R	2019 US Open	2	Hard	[28]
	Zheng Qinwen	W	Ashlyn Krueger	1R	2024 Australian Open	3	Hard	[29]
6	Danielle Collins	L	Ons Jabeur	3R	2021 Indian Wells	2	Hard	[30]
	Aryna Sabalenka	W	Xinyu Wang	2R	2022 Australian Open	2	Hard	[31]

See also

• Tennis portal

• Ace (tennis)

References

1. double fault - Definition from collinsdictionary.com.
2. "Gerald Patterson – Sport Australia Hall of Fame" . Retrieved 7 February 2021.
3. "La trastienda de Wimbledon". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 19 April 2020. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
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5. "Serve Leaders Versus All Players On All Surfaces For Career" . Retrieved 7 February 2021.
6. "Roland Garros Meanderings". tennis.com. 26 May 2009. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
7. "Chesnokov lifts Russia into Davis Cup final". The Guardian. 25 September 1995. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
8. ATP [@ATPMediaInfo] (30 August 2019). "Alexander Bublik joins Marc Rosset in 1995 Wimbledon 1R as only players to hit more than 25 double faults in a match since starts started being tracked in 1991. Like Bublik, Rosset hit 26 double faults. Unlike Bublik, he lost his match to Michael Joyce" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
9. ATP [@ATPMediaInfo] (30 August 2019). "Alexander Bublik hit 26 double faults today -- most by winner of an ATP Tour or Grand Slam match since stats started being tracked in 1991. Previous record was shared by Gael Monfils, Guillermo Coria and Greg Rusedski, who all won a match with 23 double faults" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
10. "Wimbledon – 26 doubles fautes en un match, record égalé pour Herbert". tennisactu.net (in French). 30 June 2021. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
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14. "Becker win clinches final berth". The Age. Melbourne. 7 January 1995. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
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27. "Gauff hits 21 double faults as Sabalenka reaches final". BBC. 12 October 2024. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
28. "'If I play well, everything can happen' – Bencic, Ostapenko secure third-round spots at US Open". WTA. 30 August 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
29. "Qinwen Zheng vs Ashlyn Krueger - WS125 | AO". 16 January 2024. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
30. "Jabeur bests Collins; Haddad Maia stuns top seed Pliskova in Indian Wells". WTA. 11 October 2021. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
31. "Sabalenka Struggles, Then Prevails as Top Women Fall at Australian Open". The New York Times. 20 January 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2021.