What Was The Fastest Serve In Tennis?
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We all know that Roger Federer has an incredibly fast serve, but just how fast is it? We did a little research and found out that the fastest serve ever recorded in tennis was 149mph, by Taylor Dent in 2005. Federer’s fastest serve is 148mph, so he’s pretty close!
Introduction
In tennis, a serve is a shot delivered with the ball in the air over the net into the opponent’s court. A player who serves is called a server, and his purpose is to put the ball into play by starting each point. The standard serve delivers the ball in front of the body at an angle that makes it bounce up and over the net and land inside the opponent’s court. If successful, this type of serve puts pressure on the receiver who must defend against an attack on his backhand side.
The quickest recorded tennis serve belongs to Samuel Groth of Australia who hit a 163.7 mph (263.4 km/h) serve during an ATP Challenger Tour match in Busan, Korea on 7 July 2012.
The Fastest Serves In Tennis
When we talk about the fastest serve in tennis, we are talking about the quickest delivery of the ball by the player during a tennis match. The world record for the fastest tennis serve belongs to Australian Sam Groth, who delivered a 163.7 mph serve during a Davis Cup tie in 2012.
The Men’s Record
The current men’s record for the fastest serve is held by Samuel Groth of Australia, who hit a 163.4 mph serve during a 2013 Davis Cup match. The second fastest serve belongs to Ivo Karlovic of Croatia, who hit a 161.6 mph serve during the 2014 Wimbledon tournament.
The Women’s Record
The fastest serve in tennis belongs to Serena Williams, who hit a record-breaking serve at the 2019 Australian Open. Williams’ serve was clocked at 121.9mph (196.2kph), which is the fastest ever recorded in a women’s tennis match. The previous record was held by Venus Williams, who hit a serve of 120mph (193.1kph) at the 2007 US Open.
How The Records Were Set
In tennis, the fastest serve is always a record-breaking event. The player who hits the ball the fastest is usually the one who wins the point. In this article, we will take a look at how the records were set for the fastest serve in tennis.
The Men’s Record
The current world record for the fastest serve in tennis belongs to Croatian player Ivo Karlovic. On September 26th, 2011, Karlovic hit a serve during a Davis Cup match against Spain that was clocked at 156 mph (251 km/h). This is not only the fastest serve ever recorded in tennis, but also the second-fastest serve in all of sports history.
Karlovic’s record-breaking serve came during the fifth set of Croatia’s Davis Cup tie against Spain. With the score tied at two sets apiece, Karlovic hit a serve that was initially clocked at 155 mph (249 km/h) by the on-court speed gun. However, after review, officials determined that the serve had actually been even faster, and upgraded it to 156 mph (251 km/h). This made Karlovic not only the owner of the fastest tennis serve ever recorded, but also the second-fastest server in all of sports history.
Interestingly, Karlovic’s record-breaking serve wasn’t even his fastest of the day. Earlier in the match, he hit a 155 mph (249 km/h) serve that was initially ruled to be his official world record. However, upon further review officials determined that this particular serve had actually been touched by Spain’s Juan Carlos Ferrero before it bounced twice on Karlovic’s side of the court, meaning it didn’t count as an official ace.
The Women’s Record
The current women’s record for the fastest tennis serve is held by German player Sabine Lisicki, who achieved a speed of 209.8 km/h (131 mph) during the 2014 Wimbledon Championships. This is also the tournament record.
Lisicki’s record-breaking serve came in her second-round match against Bulgarian player Tsvetana Pironkova, which she won in straight sets. It was her ninth ace of the match and helped her to seal a 6-4, 6-3 victory.
The previous women’s record for the fastest serve was held by American player Venus Williams, who hit a speed of 205 km/h (127 mph) during the 2007 Zurich Open.
Conclusion
While there are records for the fastest serve in tennis, they are unofficial and not recognized by the sport’s governing body. The currently accepted record is held by Australia’s Sam Groth, who hit a serve 163.4 kilometers per hour (101.9 mph) during a second-round match at the 2016 Wimbledon Championships.
