Lucky loser (tennis)
Encyclopedia
A lucky loser is a sports player who loses a match in the final qualifying round of a knockout tournament, but who then enters the main draw when another player withdraws after the tournament has started because of illness or injury. The lucky loser then enters the main draw, normally in place of the withdrawn player. This can only happen before all players in the main draw have started their first match in the tournament.
It is rare for a lucky loser to win an Association of Tennis Professionals
tournament; Francisco Clavet
did it in 1990 in Hilversum
, Christian Miniussi
in 1991 in São Paulo
, Sergiy Stakhovsky
in 2008 in Zagreb
and Rajeev Ram
in 2009 in Newport.
In total, seven people have done it from 1978 through 2010. A little less lucky was Andreas Haider-Maurer
, who reached the final in Vienna
, eventually losing it to the top-seeded Jürgen Melzer
.
or WTA
rankings is the first one to enter the draw, followed by the second highest-ranked player and so on (if more players withdrew before the start of the tournament). On rare occasions that there are more late withdrawals than losers in the last qualifying rounds, or players eligible for lucky losers are not available, a player who lost in the penultimate round of qualifying may enter as lucky loser.
Prior to the 2005 Wimbledon Championships
, American player Justin Gimelstob
faced George Bastl
from Switzerland in the final qualification round. Gimelstob, who was the highest-ranked player remaining in the qualifying tournament, aggravated a chronic back complaint during his second qualification match against Vladimir Voltchkov
. Gimelstob planned to withdraw before the match with Bastl, and informed his opponent of his intent. However, officials suggested that Gimelstob play at least one game, as it was almost certain someone would withdraw from the main draw before the tournament started, giving Gimelstob a good chance of getting a berth as a lucky loser (as well as giving him time for his back to recover). Gimelstob did indeed enter the main draw as a lucky loser after the withdrawal of Andre Agassi
, reaching the third round, where he lost to Lleyton Hewitt
.
While Gimelstob's behavior was not generally considered unethical, it was nonetheless clear that any player in his position would have little incentive to play a competitive match. For example, a high-ranking player paired against a lower-ranked friend might deliberately lose the match to help his friend gain entry to the tournament, if the first player had already clinched a lucky loser spot. The possibility of bribery was also a concern.
Shortly thereafter, a new policy was introduced in Grand Slam
tournaments. Since 2006, the four highest ranked players who lose in the last round of qualification take part in a four-way random draw, the results of which are used to determine the order in which each player will enter the main draw. Consequently, if only one main draw spot for a lucky loser is available, the highest-ranked loser has just a 25% chance of entering the draw, instead of 100% as in the past. This element of uncertainty helps to ensure that final-round qualifying matches remain competitive.
However, this rule does not apply in all other tournaments.
It is rare for a lucky loser to win an Association of Tennis Professionals
Association of Tennis Professionals
The Association of Tennis Professionals or ATP was formed in 1972 by Donald Dell, Jack Kramer, and Cliff Drysdale to protect the interests of male professional tennis players. Since 1990, the association has organized the worldwide tennis tour for men and linked the title of the tour with the...
tournament; Francisco Clavet
Francisco Clavet
Francisco Javier Clavet González is a former tennis player from Spain.From 2009 he has been coaching his countryman Feliciano López.-Singles career titles:* 1990 - Hilversum* 1995 - Palermo* 1996 - Amsterdam...
did it in 1990 in Hilversum
1990 Dutch Open (tennis)
The 1990 Dutch Open was an ATP-tournament staged in Hilversum, The Netherlands. The tournament was held from July 23 to July 29, 1991. Spain's Francisco Clavet won his first individual title of the year, and first of his career.-Men's Singles:...
, Christian Miniussi
Christian Miniussi
Christian Carlos Miniussi Ventureira is a former tennis player from Argentina.Miniussi turned professional in 1984. He started playing tennis at the Adrogué Tennis Club and he also represented his native country as a lucky loser at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, where he was defeated in...
in 1991 in São Paulo
ATP Sao Paulo
The ATP Sao Paolo is a defunct tennis tournament that was played on ATP Tour from 1991-1993. The event was held in São Paulo, Brazil and was played on clay...
, Sergiy Stakhovsky
Sergiy Stakhovsky
Sergiy Stakhovsky is a Ukrainian professional tennis player. Stakhovsky turned professional in 2003 and had been playing mostly at the Challenger level from 2005–2008. His career high in singles of #31 and his high of #86 in doubles...
in 2008 in Zagreb
2008 PBZ Zagreb Indoors
The 2008 PBZ Zagreb Indoors was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 5th edition of the PBZ Zagreb Indoors, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour...
and Rajeev Ram
Rajeev Ram
Rajeev Ram is an American professional tennis player on the ATP Tour. Rajeev is a tall, lanky player with a serve-and-volley style who is known best as a doubles specialist. He has advanced as far as the quarter-finals in doubles at three Grand Slams, most recently with Scott Lipsky at the 2011...
in 2009 in Newport.
In total, seven people have done it from 1978 through 2010. A little less lucky was Andreas Haider-Maurer
Andreas Haider-Maurer
Andreas Haider-Maurer is an Austrian professional tennis player. In the first round of 2010 US Open he forced world no. 5 Robin Söderling to a fifth set before losing the match....
, who reached the final in Vienna
2010 Bank Austria-TennisTrophy – Singles
Jürgen Melzer was the defending champion. He successfully defended his last year's title by beating Lucky Loser and his compatriot, Andreas Haider-Maurer 6–7, 7–6, 6–4 in the final match.-Seeds:The top four seeds received a bye into the second round....
, eventually losing it to the top-seeded Jürgen Melzer
Jürgen Melzer
Jürgen Melzer is an Austrian tennis player. He reached a career-high ranking of no. 8 on 18 April 2011, and a doubles ranking of no. 6 on 13 September 2010. He is the only current player on the ATP Tour to be ranked in the top 10 in both singles and doubles. He is a left-handed tennis player, but...
.
Ethical issues and change in policy
In tennis, the rule for choosing a player to enter the main draw as a lucky loser is as follows: from all players eliminated in the final round of qualifying, the highest-ranked player in the ATPAssociation of Tennis Professionals
The Association of Tennis Professionals or ATP was formed in 1972 by Donald Dell, Jack Kramer, and Cliff Drysdale to protect the interests of male professional tennis players. Since 1990, the association has organized the worldwide tennis tour for men and linked the title of the tour with the...
or WTA
Women's Tennis Association
The Women's Tennis Association , founded in 1973 by Billie Jean King, is the principal organizing body of Women's Professional Tennis. It governs the WTA Tour which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women. Its counterpart organization in the men's professional game is the Association of...
rankings is the first one to enter the draw, followed by the second highest-ranked player and so on (if more players withdrew before the start of the tournament). On rare occasions that there are more late withdrawals than losers in the last qualifying rounds, or players eligible for lucky losers are not available, a player who lost in the penultimate round of qualifying may enter as lucky loser.
Prior to the 2005 Wimbledon Championships
2005 Wimbledon Championships
The 2005 Wimbledon Championships was the 119 edition. It was held at the All England Club between 20 June and 3 July.Roger Federer successfully defended the men's singles crown defeating Andy Roddick in straight sets. Whilst Venus Williams and Lindsay Davenport played the longest women's final in...
, American player Justin Gimelstob
Justin Gimelstob
Justin Jeremy Gimelstob is a retired American tennis player. Gimelstob has been a resident of Morristown, New Jersey and as of 2009 resided in Santa Monica, California....
faced George Bastl
George Bastl
George Edward Bastl is a professional tennis player from Switzerland. He is ranked at World No. 845 as of August 22, 2011.He has reached one singles final in his career – at Tashkent in 1999.-Tennis career:...
from Switzerland in the final qualification round. Gimelstob, who was the highest-ranked player remaining in the qualifying tournament, aggravated a chronic back complaint during his second qualification match against Vladimir Voltchkov
Vladimir Voltchkov
Vladimir Nikolayevich Voltchkov is a Belarusian tennis player. Voltchkov reached the semi-final at the 2000 Wimbledon, where, as a qualifer, he lost to Pete Sampras in straight sets...
. Gimelstob planned to withdraw before the match with Bastl, and informed his opponent of his intent. However, officials suggested that Gimelstob play at least one game, as it was almost certain someone would withdraw from the main draw before the tournament started, giving Gimelstob a good chance of getting a berth as a lucky loser (as well as giving him time for his back to recover). Gimelstob did indeed enter the main draw as a lucky loser after the withdrawal of Andre Agassi
Andre Agassi
Andre Kirk Agassi is a retired American professional tennis player and former world no. 1. Generally considered by critics and fellow players to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time, Agassi has been called the best service returner in the history of the game...
, reaching the third round, where he lost to Lleyton Hewitt
Lleyton Hewitt
Lleyton Glynn Hewitt born 24 February 1981) is an Australian professional tennis player and former world no. 1.In 2000, Hewitt had won ATP titles on all three major surfaces and reached one final on carpet. By 2001, he became the youngest male ever to be ranked no. 1 at the age of 20...
.
While Gimelstob's behavior was not generally considered unethical, it was nonetheless clear that any player in his position would have little incentive to play a competitive match. For example, a high-ranking player paired against a lower-ranked friend might deliberately lose the match to help his friend gain entry to the tournament, if the first player had already clinched a lucky loser spot. The possibility of bribery was also a concern.
Shortly thereafter, a new policy was introduced in Grand Slam
Grand Slam (tennis)
The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...
tournaments. Since 2006, the four highest ranked players who lose in the last round of qualification take part in a four-way random draw, the results of which are used to determine the order in which each player will enter the main draw. Consequently, if only one main draw spot for a lucky loser is available, the highest-ranked loser has just a 25% chance of entering the draw, instead of 100% as in the past. This element of uncertainty helps to ensure that final-round qualifying matches remain competitive.
However, this rule does not apply in all other tournaments.