The serve in the game of tennis is one of the most important aspects and a fast, accurate serve is a great asset to a player.
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The game of Tennis revolves around five basic aspects. One is serve and volley, another is backhand, the other is a forehand, speed and agility as well as a strong serve. If the serve of a player is fast and accurate, then the other factors fall into place immediately. A strong, fast and accurate serve can put off any opponent. In Tennis, with the advent of modern technology and other measuring aspects, the speed of a serve can now be measured. A player who possess the fastest serve can be intimidating for the opponent as breaking his serve could prove to be difficult. However, a fast serve can also result in less accuracy.
There are some records, though, that have been broken by players when it comes to the fastest serve. Here is the list of the players who have registered the fastest serves in Tennis.
During John Isner’s Davis Cup singles victory over Bernard Tomic, the American delivered a blistering ace straight down the ‘T’ in the third set. The clock at Kooyong measured it at an incredible 253kmph. Australia’s Sam Groth still holds the title of fastest serve with his 263.4kmph bullet at the 2012 Busan Open Challenger. Groth is trailed by Albano Olivetti’s 257.5kmph effort at the 2012 Internazionali Trofeo Lame Perrel-Faip event. However, since these are Challenger Events, they are not recognized by the ATP due to a lack of uniformity.
During the 2011 Davis Cup encounter between Croatia and Germany, Ivo Karlovic struck a 156 mph serve in the fourth set of a doubles match. This broke Andy Roddick’s previous record of 155 mph.
Andy Roddick also achieved this feat in the 2004 Davis Cup match for the USA and it was a record for many years until Karlovic broke the record. Roddick achieved it against Vladimir Voltchkov during USA’s clash against Belarus in 2004. Roddick has been known to have a huge serve and he has consistently clocked in excess of 140-150 mph regularly.
Perhaps, the fastest serve when it could be recorded in the late 90s. Greg Rusedski unleased a near 150-mph thunderbolt in one of the matches of the Newsweek Champions Cup. Andre Agassi was the opponent and he felt the full force of the serve.
Sabine Lisicki is one of the most powerful servers in women’s Tennis and in 2014, she officially registered herself in an elite list when she served a 131 mph missile in a match. Although Georgina Garcia Perez and Aryna Sabalenka both have a serve of 136.7 and 133 mph serve, it is not officially recognized by the WTA.
Venus and Serena Williams have a powerful serve which makes them a difficult proposition for any opponent. In the 2007 US Open, Venus served a 207.6 kmph serve while in the 2013 Australian Open, Serena recorded a 207 kmph or 128.6 mph serve. In more ways, the Williams sisters redefined the way women’s Tennis is being played.
