What Is a Walkover in Tennis?

Many bettors have enjoyed diving into two weeks of Australian Open odds at the start of a new year.

That exposure has left some sports fans – especially those who are not tennis experts – a bit confused at some of the more specialized terminology deployed in tennis. And when it comes to tennis, few things are more confusing than the vocabulary, culture and betting rules regarding forfeits.

What is a Walkover in Tennis?

In tennis, there are two ways to voluntarily forfeit a match. A walkover is the pre-game variant, which happens when a player informs the umpire that they do not wish to play their scheduled match. Typically, this is most common for players who feel they are too injured to play.

Walkover Tennis Meaning: What Does a Walkover Mean in Tennis?

Walkovers are so named because the forfeiting player literally “walks over” to the net to inform their opponent and/or the chair umpire that they do not wish to play in their scheduled match.

Australian Open Walkover

While no players in either the men’s or women’s singles draw have retired during this year’s Australian Open, it is not uncommon to see walkovers in grand slam tournaments. The extra matches (and best-of-five match details in the men’s game) do draw out the possibilities for potential injuries.

The most high-profile injury of the 2023 Australian Open was Sebastian Korda, an American, who upset two-time Australian Open finalist Daniil Medvedev in the third round. 

Korda wasn’t a walkover, but he did elect to retire during the third set of his quarterfinal match against Karen Khachanov.

Sebastian Korda: Why Did Korda Retire?

Sebastian Korda was forced to retire when the injury to his right wrist got progressively worse in his match against Karen Khachanov. 

According to Korda, he was struggling just to hold his racquet by the time he decided to retire from the match.

Because Korda elected to retire, all tennis betting tickets on the match were graded as no action.