A walkover in ATP tennis means a scheduled match did not begin and one player advances because the opponent was ill, injured or prevented from playing under the relevant rules. It differs from retirement, which applies when a player stops because of illness or injury after a match has started. If a lucky loser or alternate replaces the unavailable player, the ATP does not record that situation as a walkover.
| Result description | What it means in the ATP glossary |
|---|---|
| Walkover | Match did not begin for specified reasons |
| Retired | Illness or injury ended the losing player's participation after the start |
| Default | Code of Conduct default after the match began |
| Weather | Match began, stopped for weather and is expected to resume |
These definitions come from Exhibit K of the 2026 ATP Official Rulebook, in the version dated 7 November 2026 and checked on 9 November. They explain how ATP results are recorded. An official draw and the tournament's announcement should settle the classification of a particular incident.
Walkover versus retirement in tennis
The first question is whether the match began. If an injured player cannot take part and the opponent receives the scheduled match without play, walkover is the relevant ATP category. If play began before illness or injury forced the losing player to stop, the result belongs under retirement.
A retirement here means withdrawing from that match. It does not necessarily mean the player has ended a professional career. The same everyday word carries both meanings, so the surrounding draw information matters. A score showing games already played and a retirement notation describes a different event from an untouched match marked as a walkover.
For an illustrative example, imagine two players scheduled to meet in a quarter-final. One becomes ill before the match and cannot compete, with no replacement entering. The other can advance by walkover. If the match instead starts and the illness forces a player to stop later, it is a retirement under the glossary definition.
The example deliberately avoids a medical diagnosis or a presumed recovery timetable. A result code explains what happened to the match. It does not establish the seriousness of an injury, how long the player will be absent or whether the player will enter the next tournament.
Can a disciplinary decision produce a walkover?
Yes. ATP's definition includes a player subjected to Code of Conduct penalties before the first serve is struck, or otherwise not permitted by the ATP or tournament supervisor to play. An unavailable opponent is therefore not necessarily injured. The reason should be taken from the official decision.
The glossary uses default for a losing player defaulted under Code of Conduct provisions after the match has begun. This timing distinction prevents a single label from hiding two separate situations. A reader checking a controversial withdrawal should look for both the official reason and the point at which the decision occurred.
Why is a replacement player different from a walkover?
The ATP explicitly excludes cases in which a lucky loser or alternate is substituted. In that situation, another eligible entrant fills the vacancy and a match can still take place. The player on the opposite side of the draw has an opponent to face rather than automatic passage through that scheduled contest.
The glossary describes lucky losers as players who lost in qualifying and may become eligible to replace a main-draw player withdrawing before his first match, according to the applicable ranking and eligibility arrangements. The label is a defined entry mechanism. It does not mean an organiser simply chooses any available player.
A bye also belongs to a different part of reading a draw. It indicates passage through a round without an assigned match in that position, rather than a scheduled opponent's inability to play under the walkover definition. To understand an altered draw, compare the entrant list, the bracket and the official result instead of relying on the absence of a score alone.
Do walkovers carry points and prize money?
Exhibit K says winners of walkover or no-match matches receive points and prize money as if the match had been played. That is the stated treatment for the advancing player. It does not provide a universal cash amount, because the relevant tournament, round and other rules determine the actual entitlement.
Nor does every unfinished contest create a winner. The weather category concerns a match that started but was not completed because of inclement weather, with no winner or loser and an expectation of resumption. An abandoned match, as defined in the glossary, is not to be completed and also has no winner or loser. Those are different administrative outcomes.
For viewers, the useful checks are simple: did play start, why did participation stop, and did a replacement enter? Then read the official result designation. Our guides to tennis serves, tie breaks and table tennis scoring explain separate rules that can otherwise make a draw or scoreboard difficult to follow.
