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The World’s Fastest Men’s & Women’s Tennis Serves Ever Recorded
All-time rankings
While the fastest tennis serves don’t guarantee success on the court, they can be a useful weapon, and at the very least, they’re incredibly fun to watch.
In this article, we’ve rounded up the world’s fastest men’s and women’s tennis serves recorded throughout history along with some of the fastest serves hit by some of the game’s most popular players.
Article Contents
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Fastest Serve Ever
Men’s Fastest Serves
Popular Men’s Players
Women’s Fastest Serves
Popular Women’s Players
Common Questions
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What is the fastest tennis serve ever recorded?
On May 9, 2012, in Busan, South Korea, Australian Sam Groth hit the world’s fastest serve at 163.7 mph (263.4 kph). This serve came during his second-round match against Uladzimir Ignatik from Belarus, which Groth lost 4-6, 3-6.
Groth was born on Oct. 19, 1987. He’s a right-handed tennis player who stands at 6’11” (193 cm) and went pro in 2006. In 2010, he achieved a career-high of No. 53 in the world.
The video recording of his fastest serve is pretty low quality, so we’ve included this video as well as a compilation of other videos to give you a sense of how massive his serve is.
Men’s 20 Fastest Tennis Serves (ATP)
Here you’ll find a list of the fastest men’s tennis serves ever recorded. Please keep in mind that we’ve listed each player only once on the list, with their single fastest serve.
*It’s worth noting that the serves highlighted on this list are not officially recognized by the ATP with regards to the fastest ever recorded. In times where a player hit the same serve speed twice, the oldest is listed.
Unfortunately, the majority of the fastest men’s serves aren’t available online for us to share here. We’ve compiled a playlist that showcases each player on our list so you can see them in action, but in most cases, it’s not their fastest serve. Sit back and enjoy!
Here are a few notes that sum up the list of fastest men’s serves:
- The average speed of the fastest serves is 148 mph (238 km/h)
- The median speed of the fastest serves is 146 mph (235 km/h)
- Serve speed in mph ranges from 143 mph to 163.4 mph (20.4 mph)
- Serve speed in km/h ranges from 230 km/h to 263 km/h (33km/h)
- Player height in feet ranges from 5’9″ to 6’11” (1’2″)
- Player height in cm ranges from 175 cm to 211 cm (36 cm)
- The earliest serve on the list goes back to 1998, while the most recent as of the writing of this article is 2017, for a 19-year spread
Here’s a breakdown by country, where each country has at least two players on the list:
- USA 5
- ESP 4
- POL 3
- FRA 3
- SRV 3
- SWE 2
- CHE 2
- SRB 2
Fastest Serves from Popular Men’s ATP Players
Some of the biggest names in tennis have fantastic serves, but they rely on placement, consistency, and other parts of their games for their success.
While you can’t underestimate the importance of quality serving at any level of tennis, a few of the following players show that a faster serve doesn’t necessarily equate to a better player.
Let’s take a look at some of the fastest serves hit by some of the biggest names in tennis and a few other names that come up from time to time.
Roger Federer
While Roger Federer doesn’t top the list of fastest servers, he scrapes his way onto it with a highly respectable 143 mph serve. Without question, Federer’s serve is a lethal weapon and arguably the best the game has ever seen because of his incredible accuracy and consistency.
Andy Murray
At 6’3″, Andy Murray has always been able to crank up his serve, and his top speed of 141 mph, which he clocked at the 2016 US Open vs. Grigor Dimitrov, proves he’s no slouch when it comes to turning up the heat.
Novak Djokovic
Djokovic hasn’t necessarily had a reputation for one of the best serves in the game. However, his serve is a reliable weapon that, when combined with his well-rounded game and speed on the court, has helped him become one of the top men’s players of all time.
Rafael Nadal
Rafa isn’t known for his serve, which is why it’s surprising to see him on the list of fastest servers, but he does have an incredibly solid serve that we believe to be underrated. Of course, his serve is backed up by an even more impressive game.
Milos Raonic
Over the years, Raonic’s dominant serve has gained him a lot of attention. The right-handed Canadian is 6’5″ and regularly hits massive serves, which have been the centerpiece of his game since he joined the ATP tour in 2008. In 2012, in front of his home crowd at the Rogers Cup, Milos recorded his fastest serve ever at 155.3 mph (250 km/h) against another one of the game’s biggest servers, Viktor Troicki.
John Isner
John Isner stands at a massive 6’10” and dwarfs most of his opponents. The right-hander from Greensboro, NC, takes full advantage of his height as one of the biggest servers on tour, and he holds the fastest serve ever recorded that the ATP officially recognizes. His 157.2 mph (253 km/h) serve came in 2016 at the Davis Cup, when he played and defeated Australian Bernard Tomic.
Andy Roddick
Throughout his career, Andy Roddick’s biggest weapon was his serve, which, along with his huge forehand, allowed him to capture the world No. 1 ranking in 2003. Roddick hit his fastest serve of 155 mph (249.4 km/h) in the semifinal of the 2004 Davis Cup against Vladimir Voltchkov of Belarus.
Women’s 10 Fastest Tennis Serves (WTA)
Next, we have our list of the fastest women’s tennis serves ever recorded. In this section, we’ve pared it down to the top 10 fastest serves and only list each player once.
What’s better than a list of the fastest women’s serves? That’s right – a collection of videos showcasing each of the players on our list serving. Unfortunately, most of the women’s fastest serves weren’t caught on video or aren’t publicly available, so we’ve compiled examples of their serves.
*In times where a player hit the same serve speed twice, the oldest is listed.
Here are a few takeaways from our list of the fastest women’s serves in tennis:
- The average speed of the fastest serves is 126 mph (203 km/h)
- The median speed of the fastest serves is 126 mph (202 km/h
- Serve speed in mph ranges from 125 mph to 140 mph (15 mph)
- Serve speed in km/h ranges from 201 km/h to 220 km/h (19km/h)
- Player height in feet ranges from 5’7″ to 6’2″ (7″)
- Player height in cm ranges from 144 cm to 188 cm (44 cm)
- The earliest serve on the list goes back to 2007, while the most recent as of the writing of this article is 2018, for an 11-year spread
Here’s a breakdown of fastest serves by the country where each has at least two players on the list:
- USA 2
- DEU 2
Fastest Serves from Popular Women’s WTA Players
In recent years, the WTA has seen a significant boost in the number of women hitting big serves, and the speeds also top many of the men on the ATP tour.
Here are a few ladies that our community regularly asks about when it comes to the fastest serves on the WTA.
Venus Williams
Both Williams sisters make the list of the top 10 fastest women’s servers, but Venus sits at No. 3 on the list with a 129 mph serve that she held as the fastest serve for seven years before Sabine Lisicki broke that record in 2014. Venus remains one of the best servers on the WTA tour.
Serena Williams
Serena’s dominance in the WTA is indisputable, and her serve a crucial part of her game. While she doesn’t top the list of fastest women’s servers, there’s no doubt Serena is an all-time great when it comes to her serving prowess.
Sabine Lisicki
The powerful right-hander from Germany broke into the No. 1 slot with the fastest serve when she topped Venus Williams in the first round of the Bank of the West Classic in 2014 against Ana Ivanovic, who eventually went on to win the match.
Common Questions About Fast Tennis Serves
What is the fastest male tennis serve ever recorded?
The fastest male tennis serve ever recorded was a record 263.4 km/h (163.7 mph) in 2012 by Sam Groth of Australia.
What is the fastest female tennis serve ever recorded?
The fastest female tennis serve ever recorded was a record 220 km/h (136.7 mph) in 2018 by Georgina Garcia Pérez of Spain.
What is the fastest serve ever recorded at Wimbledon?
The fastest serve ever recorded at Wimbledon was 238.2 km/h (148 mph) in 2010 by Taylor Dent. Andy Roddick has the second-fastest serve ever recorded at Wimbledon in 2004 at 235 km/h (146 mph), and in 2017 Milos Raonic clocked the third-fastest serve at 233.3 km/h (145 mph).
What is the fastest serve ever recorded at the Australian Open?
The fastest serve ever recorded at the Australian Open was 242 km/h (150 mph) by Marius Copil of Romania in 2015. Previously, American Taylor Dent held the fastest serve ever recorded at the Australian Open at 231 km/h (144 mph) in 2006.
What is the fastest serve ever returned?
The fastest serve ever returned was a 244.6 km/h (152 mph) serve by Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden while playing Andy Roddick in the 2004 Davis Cup quarterfinals. It was the last point of the match.
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