Walkovers are a familiar part of professional tennis, yet they may be puzzling when they appear in results. They show up as a player progressing without a ball being hit, which naturally raises questions about what might have occurred.
This blog post explores what a walkover is, why it might occur, how it fits into official rules, and its implications for rankings and records. It also clarifies how a walkover differs from a retirement, so you can interpret tournament draws more accurately.
Read on to learn more.
What Is a Walkover in Tennis?
A walkover in tennis happens when a player or team is allowed to advance because their opponent does not take the court. It occurs before any play begins, meaning no points are scored and the match is not formally considered to have started.
Often, the reasons behind a walkover relate to circumstances preventing a player from competing. These might include medical or personal factors, or sometimes administrative issues.
It is important to distinguish this from a match that starts but cannot finish, which is treated differently.
Why Do Players Give Walkovers?
Players typically give walkovers when they are unable to start a match as scheduled.
Medical concerns are frequently the cause. A player may experience an injury or illness close to the match time, or a pre-existing condition might worsen during warm-ups. In such situations, choosing not to take the court is often considered the more reasonable course.
Other times, personal or logistical issues might prevent participation. Family matters, travel delays, or administrative complications may make it impossible for a player to arrive in time for their match. If the player cannot report ready, the referee may confirm the walkover.
Regulatory reasons also play a role. A player may also concede a walkover if they are deemed ineligible to start due to medical, administrative, or regulatory reasons, as confirmed by the tournament referee.
Later, we will see how these situations influence tournament progression and points, but for now, it is enough to understand that a walkover allows the opponent to move forward without playing.
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Can Walkovers Affect Tournament Rankings?
A walkover may affect how far a player moves through a tournament and, as a result, their ranking. In most events, the player who progresses receives the points normally allocated for the next round. Meanwhile, the player who withdraws retains only points earned in previous rounds.
The player who advances via walkover receives the ranking points and prize money for the next round, while the withdrawing player retains only the points earned in previous rounds. In most professional tournaments, ranking points for advancing via walkover are awarded according to the official tour’s standard points schedule for that round.
This sets the stage for understanding how walkovers are reflected in official records, which is slightly different from the point system.
Do Walkovers Count as Wins or Losses?
In official records, a walkover does not count as a win or a loss for either participant. The advancing player moves to the next round, but their personal win-loss tally remains unchanged, and head-to-head records are unaffected.
What does matter is tournament progression: the player moving forward may collect ranking points and prize money for the round reached, according to the event’s rules. Because no play occurs in a walkover, no match statistics (points, games, or sets) are recorded in official records.
These distinctions are established in the rulebooks, which provide guidance on when a walkover applies and how it is formally confirmed.
What Are the Official Rules Governing Walkovers?
Walkovers are managed by both the international tour rules and the individual event regulations. A walkover is confirmed when a player cannot start a scheduled match and the referee or supervisor accepts the explanation. Typical reasons include medical withdrawal, verified personal matters, or administrative ineligibility.
Players are expected to notify officials promptly if they know they cannot start. In some cases, documentation may be required. In doubles, if one team member cannot start, the entire team is unable to play, granting a walkover to their opponents.
Crucially, a walkover only applies before the first point. Once the match has started, any interruption is treated differently, which brings us to retirements.
How Are Walkovers Different From Retirements?
Walkovers and retirements describe separate situations. A walkover occurs before a match begins: no points are played, the match is not logged in the official results, and the ready player advances.
A retirement happens after play has started. If a player cannot continue due to injury, illness, or another valid reason, the opponent is awarded the win. Any completed games and sets remain part of the record, and the result contributes to win-loss statistics and head-to-head records.
In short, the distinction depends on whether the first point has been played. Before it, it is a walkover with no match recorded. After it, stopping is a retirement, with scores preserved at the point play ends.
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Understanding how walkovers function can help make tournament draws and rankings easier to interpret. The next time you notice WO on a results sheet, you will have a clear idea of what it signifies for the event and the players involved.
