Tennis Star Celebrates Prematurely, Loses Heartbreaking Match After Rules Mistake

Austrian tennis star Sebastian Ofner thought he was one step closer to a spot in the Australian Open main draw with an apparent win over Nishesh Basavareddy in the qualifying round. However, his celebration turned out to be premature.

While Ofner thought he was victorious, he actually misunderstood the rules of the match. As a result, the match continued, and he ultimately suffered a heartbreaking loss that ended his quest at a spot in the Australian Open main draw.

Ofner Thought He Won

A hard-fought, back-and-forth match between Ofner and Basavareddy ultimately went to a decisive third-set tiebreaker. Ofner got off to a hot start in the tiebreaker, hopping out to a 7-1 lead, at which point he thought he won the match.

Ofner stepped to the net triumphantly, pumping his fist in the air and even pointing to his head, presumably proud of the mental strength he showed to win the match. There was one problem, however: Ofner hadn't won just yet.

In most ATP matches, tiebreakers are played to seven points, with the winner needing to win by more than two points. However, the rules for the Australian Open qualifiers were different.

Since the Australian Open is a Grand Slam, tiebreak sets are played to 10 points instead of seven, even in the qualifying rounds. So in order to win, Ofner actually had to win three more points.

Ofner's confusion is understandable, however, especially considering that the qualifying matches are best-of-three set matches – like any other ATP match – while Grand Slams regular draw matches are best-of-five set matches.

A Heartbreaking Loss

While Ofner may not have won the match, as he thought, he still held a commanding lead over Basavareddy. Ofner needed just three more points to win, while Basavareddy needed at least nine.

Basavareddy won three consecutive points to bring the score to 7-4 before Ofner won a point to bring the match to 8-4. Then, Basavareddy reeled off 5 consecutive points to take a 9-8 lead, earning a match point.

Ready, Reddy, GO into Round 3 of #AO26 Qualifying after a marathon tie-breaker ????@wwos • @espn • @tntsports • @wowowtennis • #AO26 pic.twitter.com/3XoKJNXV6M

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 14, 2026

The players went back and forth, trading match points, until Basavareddy hit a short volley that Ofner had no chance to play to win the tiebreak by a score of 13-11, and win the match.

Just like that, Ofner went from believing that he had won the match to giving up eight points in nine serves and ultimately losing.