How Tennis Retirements and Walkovers Differ Explainer
A tennis retirement occurs after a match has started when a player or team cannot continue, usually because of injury, illness, or another permitted reason. The opponent advances, and the score at the moment play ends remains part of the official result, followed by a retirement notation.
A walkover occurs before the match begins. The withdrawing player never starts the first point, so no match score is created. Tournament brackets normally mark the opponent as advancing by walkover. A withdrawal made even earlier may be recorded separately under the event's entry and draw procedures.
The distinction affects statistics and records. A started match ended by retirement generally counts as a match played and a win or loss, while a walkover does not carry the same played-match status. Ranking systems and tournament regulations can contain additional details, so the event's governing rules remain important.
Officials therefore focus on the moment the match legally begins. Warm-up activity is not itself the decisive line; play must have commenced. Once a point has started, an inability to continue becomes a retirement rather than a walkover, preserving the partial score and accurately describing what occurred on court.
No. Because the match never starts, there is no completed-game score to record.
The score at the time play stops remains in the result with a retirement notation.
Not by itself. The match must begin under the competition's rules before an ending is classified as a retirement.
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