Wimbledon introduced a final-set tiebreak at 12–12 in 2019.
The All England Club introduced the rule for the 2019 Championships after years of exceptionally long deciding sets. Under the previous Wimbledon format, a final set continued until one player led by two games, producing marathon matches such as the 70–68 fifth set between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut in 2010. The new rule preserved extended play but added a defined finish at 12 games all.
Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer made the change famous in the men’s singles final. After the fifth set reached 12–12, Djokovic won the tiebreak 7–3 and took the set 13–12, winning a four-hour, 57-minute final. It was the first Wimbledon singles match in which the new rule was used and the first men’s singles Grand Slam final decided by a final-set tiebreak.
The other majors used different deciding-set policies at the time. In 2019, Wimbledon’s 12–12 trigger was distinctive; later reforms moved Grand Slam singles toward a 10-point tiebreak at 6–6 in the deciding set, beginning in 2022.