Sorribes Tormo breaks four-hour mark, wins fourth longest match of Open Era

Wait 14 years for a Hologic WTA Tour match to break the four-hour mark, and two come along in as many weeks.

Beijing: Scores | Order of Play | Draws

Just eight days after Laura Siegemund took 4 hours and 9 minutes to defeat Wang Xiyu in the Hua Hin second round — the longest tour-level match since 2011 — the German has already been trumped. Appropriately, Sara Sorribes Tormo is responsible after the Spaniard came through 6-7(4), 7-5, 7-5 in 4 hours and 15 minutes over wild card Gao Xinyu in the first round of the China Open. The result displaces Siegemund’s win as the fourth longest match of the Open Era.

Photos: All of 2024’s three-hour matches

Sorribes Tormo is known for her marathon habits. The 27-year-old has now featured in four of the 13 longest matches of the Open Era, but this is the first time she has broken the four-hour mark. She seemed to have escaped Gao as she built a 5-1 lead in the third set, only for the World No.171 start hitting out with bold first-strike power. Gao saved two match points trailing 5-2, and levelled the match at 5-5 — but could not take two break points to go up 6-5. Instead, it was Sorribes Tormo who closed the contest out with consecutive winners.

The 17 longest matches of the Open Era (as of Sep. 26, 2024)

1. Vicki Nelson-Dunbar d. Jean Hepner 6-4, 7-6(11), 1984 Richmond R1 (6:31)
2. Francesca Schiavone d. Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 1-6, 16-14, 2011 Australian Open R4 (4:44)
3. Barbora Strycova d. Regina Kulikova 7-6(5), 6-7(10), 6-3, 2010 Australian Open R1 (4:19)
4. Sara Sorribes Tormo d. Gao Xinyu 6-7(4), 7-5, 7-5, 2024 Beijing R1 (4:15)
5. Laura Siegemund d. Wang Xiyu 7-6(3), 4-6, 7-6(1), 2024 Hua Hin 2 R2 (4:09)
6. Virginie Buisson d. Noelle Van Lottum 6-7(3), 7-5, 6-2, 1995 Roland Garros R1 (4:07)
=7. Kerry Melville Reid d. Pam Teeguarden 7-6(7), 4-6, 16-14, 1972 Roland Garros R3 (3:55)
=7. Kristina Kucova d. Ekaterine Gorgodze 6-7(4), 7-6(7), 7-6(3), 2021 Gdynia QF (3:55)
9. Sara Sorribes Tormo d. Camila Osorio 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-3, 2022 Cleveland R1 (3:54)
10. Lesia Tsurenko d. Kamilla Rakhimova 6-7(1), 6-4, 7-5, 2022 Budapest R2 (3:53)
11. Martina Trevisan d. Marie Bouzkova 6-4, 6-7(8), 6-4, 2021 Indian Wells R1 (3:52)
T12. Sara Sorribes Tormo d. Camila Giorgi 7-6(4), 6-7, 7-5, 2021 Rome R1 (3:51)
T12. Beatriz Haddad Maia d. Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-7(3), 6-3, 7-5, 2023 Roland Garros R4 (3:51)
14. Francesca Schiavone d. Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-7(11), 7-5, 10-8, 2015 Roland Garros R2 (3:50)
15. Karolina Pliskova d. Kristina Mladenovic 6-3, 4-6, 16-14, 2016 Billie Jean King Cup F (3:48)
16. Monica Seles d. Gabriela Sabatini 6-4, 5-7, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, 1990 WTA Finals F (3:47)
17. Chanda Rubin d. Patricia Hy-Boulais 7-6(4), 6-7(5), 17-15, 1995 Wimbledon R2 (3:45)