What are the new tie-break rules at Wimbledon this year? Why has there been a rule change?

Wimbledon is in full swing with the majority of the world's best players taking part at SW19, but there has been a big change to what happens in the final set of matches. For the first time, tie-breaks are being used to decide the winner of matches at Wimbledon after six games all. In March, a 10-point tie-break was announced to decide all final sets at the four Grand Slams on the tennis calendar.

Ad/> The French Open was the first Grand Slam this year to be a part of the 10-point tie-break trial. The Australian Open has had first-to-10 points tie-breaks in the final set since January 2019. /> WimbledonMats Wilander on Gauff, her parents and his admiration for everything she stands for27 MINUTES AGO The first match to see the new rule implemented at Wimbledon was Serena Williams' first round contest against Harmony Tan which saw the 23-time Grand Slam winner get knocked out in three sets.

But how does the rule change work exactly? In 2019, Novak Djokovic beat Roger Federer 13-12 in the final set of their singles final, with Wimbledon having introduced a traditional tie-break after 12-12. Now, a 10-point tie-break has been introduced to decide all final sets when the score reaches 6-6. A player must win the tie-break by two clear points to be declared the winner of the match.

In the years before that, final sets of Grand Slams were decided by two clear games, but that is no longer the case. The rule had been criticised in recent years as some matches would go on for many hours as a result. In 2010, John Isner and Nicolas Mahut played the longest match in Wimbledon history when the final set of the first round match finished 70-68.