What Is a Walkover in Tennis? Causes, Rules & What It Means

A walkover in tennis is when a player advances to the next round because their opponent withdraws before the match begins. No points are played, no balls are struck, and the remaining player moves forward in the draw.

If you’ve watched enough professional tennis, you’ve seen it happen. A player picks up a nagging injury during a grueling three-setter, and by the next morning they can’t move well enough to compete. The result? Their opponent gets a walkover. I’ve seen it at every level of the game, from local USTA league play to Grand Slam quarterfinals.

Walkovers are one of those tennis terms that casual fans often confuse with retirements or defaults. They’re all different, and the distinctions matter for rankings, prize money, and a player’s official record. Let’s break it all down.

Why Walkovers Happen

Several situations can lead to a walkover. Here are the most common.

Injury or Illness

This is by far the most frequent cause. A player tweaks a hamstring in their previous match, wakes up with a stomach virus, or aggravates a chronic issue during practice. If they can’t take the court for their scheduled match, the opponent receives a walkover.

We saw this play out when Tallon Griekspoor withdrew from the 2025 Dubai final, handing Daniil Medvedev the title via walkover. Griekspoor had pushed through a tough semifinal but couldn’t recover in time.

Personal Circumstances

Family emergencies, legal matters, or other personal situations can force a withdrawal. These are less common but they happen, and tournament organizations generally handle them with discretion.

Code of Conduct Violations

If a player accumulates enough penalties before a match starts, the match can be declared a walkover. The ATP and WTA both have graduated penalty systems: warnings, point penalties, game penalties, and ultimately default. This is rare at the professional level, but it does happen.

Administrative Issues

Scheduling conflicts, visa problems, or registration errors occasionally prevent a player from competing. These walkovers are uncommon in professional tennis, where logistics are tightly managed, but they crop up more frequently at lower-level events and amateur tournaments.

Walkover vs. Retirement vs. Default: What’s the Difference?

This is where many fans get confused, so let me clarify the three terms.

• Walkover: The match never starts. The withdrawing player pulls out before the first point is played.
• Retirement: The match begins but one player cannot finish, usually due to injury or illness. The opponent wins, and the result counts in both players’ records.
• Default: A player is removed from the match by officials for violating the code of conduct. This can happen before or during a match. If it happens before play, it’s recorded as a walkover.

The key distinction is timing. A walkover means zero play. A retirement means the match was in progress. A default is a punishment, not a voluntary withdrawal.

Does a Walkover Count as a Win?

No. A walkover does not appear as a win or a loss in either player’s official record. The advancing player moves to the next round, but their win-loss ratio stays the same.

That said, walkovers still carry real consequences:

• Ranking points: The advancing player receives the full ranking points for that round, just as if they had won the match
• Prize money: Both players receive prize money, but at different levels (more on this below)
• Physical advantage: The advancing player gets rest while potential future opponents are grinding through matches, which can be a significant edge in a long tournament

So while the record book ignores it, a walkover can absolutely shape a player’s tournament and season.

How Walkovers Affect Rankings and Prize Money

The financial and ranking implications are straightforward but worth understanding.

For the advancing player:

• Full ranking points for the round
• Full prize money for the round
• An extra day of rest, which is valuable in back-to-back tournament weeks

For the withdrawing player:

• Prize money from the previous round (the last round they actually competed in)
• Ranking points from the previous round
• Potential fines, depending on the timing and circumstances of the withdrawal

The ATP and WTA handle these situations similarly, though specific fine structures and late-withdrawal penalties differ slightly between the tours.

How Walkovers Impact a Tournament

When a walkover occurs, the ripple effects extend beyond the two players involved.

Draws and Lucky Losers

If a player withdraws before their first-round match, tournament organizers can bring in a “lucky loser,” a player who lost in the final round of qualifying. This keeps the draw full and gives another player a shot at the main draw. Lucky losers have occasionally gone on deep runs. Once the tournament is underway, however, lucky losers can’t replace withdrawing players, so later-round walkovers simply leave one side of the draw with a bye.

Scheduling

A walkover creates a gap in the schedule. Sometimes organizers shuffle other matches into the empty time slot. Other times, it means fewer matches for spectators on that day, which can be frustrating for fans who bought tickets expecting a full card.

Betting

Walkovers also affect the tennis betting market. Most sportsbooks void bets when a walkover occurs, returning stakes to bettors. This is an important detail if you follow the betting side of the sport.

Notable Walkovers in Tennis History

Walkovers are usually routine, but a few have made headlines.

John McEnroe | 1990 Australian Open

John McEnroe’s infamous default at the 1990 Australian Open remains one of the most dramatic moments in Grand Slam history. McEnroe was leading Mikael Pernfors in the fourth round when umpire Gerry Armstrong issued him a third code violation for racket abuse and foul language.

Under the three-strike rule, the third violation triggered an automatic default. McEnroe was escorted off the court to a chorus of boos and was fined $6,500. It was the first time a player had been ejected from a Grand Slam for on-court misconduct.

Eugenie Bouchard | 2015 US Open

One of the strangest walkover stories involves Eugenie Bouchard at the 2015 US Open. Bouchard slipped and sustained a concussion in the locker room area, making her unable to compete in her next match. Roberta Vinci received the walkover and advanced.

Vinci then pulled off one of the biggest upsets in tennis history, ending Serena Williams’ bid for a calendar-year Grand Slam in the semifinals, before losing to Flavia Pennetta in the final. An off-court accident in a locker room altered the entire trajectory of the tournament.

Medvedev Awarded Dubai Title | 2025

More recently, Daniil Medvedev was awarded the 2025 Dubai Championships title when Tallon Griekspoor withdrew before the final due to physical exhaustion. It’s an unusual way to claim a title, and Medvedev himself acknowledged it wasn’t the way he wanted to win.