Friedrich Nowak and Karl Straßberger may be the names of the two new world record holders in endurance tennis. The Styrians are big cousins and business partners and most recently stood on the tennis court in Langenwang-Schwöbing in the Bruck-Mürzzuschlag district for almost four days straight – more on this in the Starting signal for the world record in long-term tennis (11.8.2022).
Beat record holder by over 100 minutes
On Sunday, at exactly 2:09 p.m., the previous world record finally fell, after which the game continued until 3:50 p.m. Nowak and Strassberger played tennis for exactly 80 hours and 50 minutes, beating the previous world record by 101 minutes. The record is not official yet, however, because the Guinness World Records test and the official entry in the Guinness Book of Records are still pending, says press officer Elke Ferstl: “The entry in the Guinness Book of Records will be another one It’s a completely normal procedure to have to wait a while.”
“The first night was a horror”
It was played day and night, 159 sets and 1,475 games were played. Three times there were longer breaks of around 50 minutes each – a physical challenge as well, Fritz Nowak confirmed immediately after breaking the record: “The beginning was relatively difficult, you come straight out of your comfort zone, but you managed everything well. The first night was horrible – but then with the support of the whole team it went in the direction where we knew we could do it now.”
The long-term tennis match, for which the two Styrians had been preparing for years, was accompanied by a four-day tent party on the grounds of the tennis club in Langenwang – according to Nowak, around 700 people were present after the game to congratulate them. Even after more than 80 hours of tennis, Nowak couldn’t think of sleep: “I’m not going home right now, we have to celebrate now,” he said immediately after the match.
Around 80,000 euros for a good cause
The aim of the two Styrians was not just to break the world record, it was also an action in favor of inclusion in mass sports, said Nowak: “We’re fine, we can still do sports. There are a lot of people who can’t do that. It is very important to us that we want to give back what we have.”
The event also brought in monetary and material donations of around 80,000 euros, which are now intended to benefit eleven-year-old Vincent, who has been suffering from a spastic condition since birth and is now to receive a swimming pool lift.
