View source for Year of the Three-Ways

The [[Year of the Three-Ways]] is a term invented by {{dani_phantump}} in 2025 to describe an early period in tennis in which [[3-way]] matches were played at particular frequency and prominence. While this term tends to loosely point specifically to 2008 as this consolidated "year", the actual era of most prominence for casual 3-way matches in tennis is roughly double this length, lasting from October 2007 - when the first 3-way matches began to be attempted and successfully played - to September 2009.

3-way matches have their origins in the initial efforts of the early player MahsuginaChicken, who only briefly dabbled in tennis in late 2007, but otherwise successfully created the first complete 3-way match playing alongside SeductiveBaz and hom906sar(the 41st match ever played) after originally attempting it with Calcbox and Sunnyerik. Following this, the next 3-way match, [[BMATF vs. UncleChuckTH vs. Wikiwow]](2007) became the first match to solidify the potential of the variant, and has remained influential into the present day.

It would not be until early 2008 that 3-way matches began to be visited with an increasing frequency, with many being attempted throughout this period but only few ever completing, alongside other ambitious variant attempts such as 4 and 5-way matches, the first attempts at [[Doubles]] matches, and even an attempt at a 3-way [[Duel]]. Highlights from this period include [[InsinerateHymn vs. zacheatscrackers vs. GameBop]](2008), which was successful enough to manage 15 rounds in a single week of activity, Luioigi vs. Aesaun vs. guysafari(2008), WowComics vs. OMGulator vs. FuturesPassed(2008-2009), and TheDarkRises vs. XBR4D3NX vs. Crash2991(2008-2009), the match that took the longest of all attempts in this period to complete successfully, after over a year of stalled progress.

Casual 3-way matches significantly slowed in activity after this point, and in lieu of much larger and complex multi-ways rising in prominence over the next several years, were rarely attempted as often again outside of sanctioned [[tennis tournaments]]. The [[3-Way Tennis Tournament]](2010-2011) and the [[3-Way Tennis Tournament 2]](2024-2025) were both created explicitly around this variant in the years subsequent.

=List of Known Matches=

MahsuginaChicken vs. Calcbox vs. Sunnyerik(October 2007)(failed)

MahsuginaChicken vs. SeductiveBaz vs. hom906sar(October 2007)

BMATF vs. UncleChuckTH vs. Wikiwow(November-December 2007)

Erarg vs. Markie vs. Ikwaylx(January-March 2008)(failed)

peskyplumber vs. AbsoluteBillion vs. Hoss1993(March 2008)(failed)

cloggedone vs. GameBop vs. theHappyFungus(April 2008)(failed)

FourTwoNineStudios vs. tonyjcant vs. Applewithcheese332(May 2008)

PapaGonzales vs. FullMetalKiwi vs. AjaxCubed(May-June 2008)

[[InsinerateHymn vs. zacheatscrackers vs. GameBop]](June 2008)

LolBananaPhone vs. HightVoltageChrist vs. KonXII(June 2008)(failed)

Y2Zero vs. Dekabreak vs. Intenseowl(April-July 2008)(failed)

MeiAIDS vs. ADHDYoshi vs. Domorato(July 2008)(failed)

Intenseowl vs. ShadowWario/FancySanta vs. DrGenericMan(July 2008)(failed)

NEVERGONNAGETIT92000 vs. HenoTalkie vs. navyhusky11(July 2008)(failed)

MycroProcessor vs. SesakaGenX vs. Squid0862(July-August 2008)(failed)

Grabboarm vs. GorillaCrap35 vs. 3inchhorse(July-August 2008)

Luioigi vs. Aesaun vs. guysafari(August 2008)

ThaNuke vs. WowComics vs. Aesaun(September-October 2008)(failed)

Kulsprutejojjo vs. YouGotGroped vs. thedeadonesrise(October-November 2008)(failed)

eletricalmonkss vs. thedeadonesrise vs. FuturesPassed(November-December 2008)

saba0th vs. GasmaskAvenger vs. InsinerateHymn(December 2008)(failed)

JohnshiBRPG vs. Xample2008 vs. 4evervids4you(November 2008 - January 2009)(failed)

WowComics vs. OMGulator vs. FuturesPassed(December 2008 - January 2009)

AlexanderZero vs. MAZZ0Murder vs. FridgeMcFabric(cloggedone)(February-March 2009)(failed)

CrisArriran10 vs. yomismobruto vs. GuidoAstrokz(February-April 2009)(failed)

ferretfreak111 vs. SesakaGenX vs. Aesaun(February-April 2009)(failed)

TheNeopreneJunebug vs. YTPHaruko vs. MAZZ0Murder(March-May 2009)

bkbusters vs. OMGulator vs. McMANGOS(April 2009)(failed)

OMGulator vs. TheDarkRises vs. AmiralMachin(April-May 2009)(failed)

quax94 vs. TheGreatFlamingHobo vs. GameBop(May-June 2009)

zacheatscrackers vs. XBR4D3NX vs. JohnFordDanceTroup(Malkmusian)(June 2009)

GasmaskAvenger vs. RobochaoXX vs. hobopigeon(February-June 2009)

Fiddlesticks411 vs. Blueseraph89 vs. TantricInferno(April-August 2009)(failed)

NotAnS vs. bkbusters vs. Rarenut59(May-August 2009)

SpiralWierdo vs. PunctualJinx vs. AmiralMachin(July-August 2009)(failed)

hemanlovepancakes vs. Rarenut59 vs. AmiralMachin(August 2009)(failed)

TheDarkRises vs. XBR4D3NX vs. Crash2991(June 2008 - August 2009)

TheChutley vs. deckman92 vs. rapskallionxyz(June-September 2009)(failed)