Irish tennis players break world record after 60-hour marathon

Four Irish tennis players have broken the Guinness world record for the longest game of tennis, after playing for more than 60 hours over the last three days.

The tennis started at 8am on Friday at Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club in Ranelagh, Dublin, and finished at 8.30pm on Sunday, with a total of 60 hours, 24 minutes and 14 seconds played.

Former Davis Cup players James Cluskey and David Mullins and Trinity College players Luke Maguire and Daniel O'Neill made up the doubles teams.

The marathon Guinness World Record attempt was to raise funds for Tennis Ireland's "Enjoy Tennis" programme, which introduces the game to people with disabilities. To date, its GoFundMe page has raised almost €4,500.

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Minutes after finishing, Mr Cluskey said, “it was very challenging, we all had our ups and downs throughout.

‘Great support’

“We had great support, especially through the tough times like late in the evening and early in the mornings, and then Saturday was fairly hot,” he said.

“But we had good preparation which helped us, trainers and a plan which we stuck to pretty rigorously. I’m not that knackered at the moment but I’m sure it’s going to hit me.”

The record for the longest doubles tennis match was 58 hours, but there is also a completed attempt of 60 hours and 40 seconds that has yet to be verified and approved by the World Record body, which the four Irish men have now beaten.

Under the World Record rules the four players could not leave the court even for a toilet break, but for every hour they played they accrued a five-minute rest period. The players built up their rest time, which allowed them take an hour’s sleep on Friday and Saturday night.