Walkover In Tennis: Meaning, Examples & Why It Happens
You might’ve heard of the term “walkover” in tennis. While it does mean that one of two competing players (or teams) gets to move on in the tournament and play another match, it’s not a case of one beating the other.
The lines can be blurred even more when you compare walkovers to situations like retirement or default. But in this article, I will explain in detail what walkovers in tennis truly are.
What Is a Walkover? A walkover in tennis is when a player is awarded the victory of their upcoming match without actually playing it, due to their opponent’s inability to compete. Consequently, they proceed to the next round, as the rules for tennis tournaments don’t allow a match to be rescheduled for player-related reasons.
Why Walkovers Occur
Oftentimes, walkovers happen when a player suffers an injury while warming up, or feels seriously unwell in between matches, or has aggravated a pre-existing injury to a point that prevents them from recovering in time for their next match.
The player awarded the walkover advances to the next stage of the competition the same way other players who’ve won a completed match do, meaning they earn the same league points or prize money.
Walkover vs Withdrawal
Although similar to a walkover, a withdrawal takes place in tennis when a player who has either entered or requested entry to a tournament decides not to continue and play the event anymore. If the withdrawal happens before entries close, any reason given is acceptable.
However, if the withdrawal happens after entries close (regardless of whether officials have made the draw), then it must be due to illness, injury or personal emergencies. It can only be recognized as a withdrawal before (or while the player is warming up for) a first-round match.
If more than 24 hours notice is given, there is a possibility to bring in a “Lucky Loser” or alternate to step in for the player withdrawing, thereby allowing that match to proceed. The other player receives no walkover and must play the match as scheduled, in this case.
Walkover vs Default
If a tennis player refuses to play their match for reasons apart from a personal emergency, injury or illness, they forfeit their match. That means their opponent is awarded a default, not a walkover.
Also, while it hardly happens at the upper echelons of the pro circuits, defaults in tennis can occur if one player fails to show up on court at the scheduled time for the match (usually half an hour after the official start time).
The exception here is if this happens due to an administrative error, such as when players were given the wrong call time or had to play a doubles match at a time too close to their singles match.
Walkover vs Retirement
In contrast to walkovers that are granted before the start of a match, a retirement occurs during a match, when one player isn’t able to continue playing (or return to the court for a previously suspended match).
As is the case for walkovers, reasons for retirement must be either illness, injury or an emergency. Again, other reasons deem the match to have been won by a default.
Here is a table summarizing the differences among the terms mentioned above, as officially laid out by Impact of Withdrawals, Defaults, Walkovers and Retirement by the United States Tennis Association (USTA):
| Situation | Condition of Match | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Walkover | Never begins; Player was about to play their first match or had already advanced to a certain round | 1. Illness 2. Injury 3. Personal emergency |
| Withdrawal | Never begins; Player had not played their first match and decided not to continue with the tournament | 1. Illness 2. Injury 3. Personal emergency |
| Default | Never begins or has not been completed | 1. Lateness 2. No-show 3. Refusal to start or continue 4. Code violations |
| Retirement | Never begins or has not been completed | 1. Injury 2. Illness 3. Personal emergency |
Are Players Receiving a Walkover Also Awarded A Victory?
The fact of the matter is even though the player who gets a walkover moves on to the next round as if they “won” their match, it’s not an official win on their record.
Matches that result in a walkover are not technically matches, as neither player has been on court to play a point following the chair umpire’s call for the match to begin. No winner, no loser. That’s why walkovers have no bearing on a tennis player’s win-loss record or head-to-head against other players.
Examples of Walkovers
- Serena Williams, walkover against Venus Williams (Indian Wells, California – 2001)
During what was a highly controversial edition of the Indian Wells tennis tournament, particularly for the Women’s Singles event, Venus Williams spoke to officials that she couldn’t play her semi-final match against her sister Serena.
The decision was made at the last minute – five minutes before both players were scheduled on the court and Venus cited tendinitis in her knee as the reason for being unable to play.
Unfortunately, this led to further igniting rumors that matches between the Williams sisters were fixed, with outcomes predetermined by their father Richard. That allegedly caused the crowd to heckle him and yells boos at Serena on the day of her Final match versus Kim Clijsters.
That said, the match-fixing accusations have never been proven, and this walkover wasn’t any less legitimate than others occurring before and after it.
- Novak Djokovic, walkover against Roger Federer (ATP Finals, London – 2014)
It was well-known by that point that Roger Federer had never once retired on the tennis court, meaning he always finished a match, win or lose.
But on the day of his ATP Finals final-round clash against Djokovic, he made the decision to pull out and give his opponent a walkover – only the third time this was done in his career. Less than an hour before the match was supposed to start, the walkover was announced.
Federer then went onto the court to address the crowd and apologize: “Unfortunately I’m not match fit to play the match tonight […] I tried everything I could last night and today – painkillers, rest – until the very end but I can’t compete at this level with Novak. In a final like this and at my age it would be too risky. I hope you understand.”
Still, the crowd applauded him for his brave gesture and shouted, “We love you, Roger!” across the arena. Officially, Federer’s team cited back problems as the reason for his decision.
- Roberta Vinci, walkover against Eugenie Bouchard (US Open, New York – 2015)
The 2015 US Open Women’s Singles finalist didn’t get to play the standard total of seven matches due to a walkover against Eugenie Bouchard in Round 4.
It is understood that Bouchard had slipped on a wet floor while returning to the locker room following a late-night Mixed Doubles match. She suffered a concussion and injured elbow and upon medical advice, decided she couldn’t battle it out with Vinci for her next Women’s Singles match.
At the end of the day, walkovers can’t be completely avoided in a sport like tennis. Players generally make the decision to pull out of a tournament carefully, taking into consideration the extent of the injury or their ability to play upcoming events, other tournaments where there’s more on the line.
It’s seldom the case of flat-out quitting, and it’s normally a decision made in consultation with the whole team. Walkovers, while often inconvenient for both fans and tournament organizers, highlight just how demanding the life of a tennis pro can be.
