TWO friends had to wait more than a year to get their 24-hour world record attempt at Real Tennis rubber stamped.
Will Stephens and Richard Ramjane played 25 consecutive doubles matches in little over 24 hours at Prested Hall in Feering in May last year.
Until this attempt there was no official world record for the longest match of the game, first played by King Henry VIII at his former Tudor palace at what is now New Hall School.
But it was not until earlier this month that the record was officially confirmed by Guinness World Record bosses, who quibbled over the completion of some of the pair's matches.
Mr Stephens, 51, of Sudbury, said: "We are just happy that our attempt has finally made it into the Guinness Book of World Records, albeit a year late, and Richard and I each have a certificate for our efforts.
"It was particularly hard during the night, and then once it came around to the afternoon the next day, at about 3pm, it got a bit easier as we knew we were near the end," Mr Stephens added.
The official inspectors took issue over whether matches which had been won two to love had actually been completed.
Following a string of phone calls and e-mails between the world record-seekers and Guinness, where video content and paper work were painstakingly scrutinised, the latter finally approved the attempt, making their effort an official Guinness World Record. At the time of the attempt, independent witnesses were needed to watch the matches as well as a video of their attempt to verify its authenticity.
In order to comply with Guinness World Record rules, Will and Richard could only have one five-minute break for every complete hour played; however, breaks could be accumulated if play continued longer than this.
The duo raised over £11,000 for Great Ormond Street which treated one of Mr Ramjane's twin sons, Finlay, who was taken ill at a young age after complications arising from chicken pox, which was more than double their initial goal of £5,000.
They were both coached by professionals Ricardo Smith and Lewis Williams prior to the attempt and their last game was against Mr Ramjane's twin sons, Finlay and Zak.
