Fastest Tennis Serves Ever Recorded
There is no doubt that one of the biggest weapons in any tennis player’s game is the serve and while the best tennis serves use a combination of power and precision, it’s clear that having one of the fastest serves in tennis can make the game seem a lot easier than it is.
In this article we’ve put together a list of the fastest tennis serves recorded on the men’s and women’s professional tours and the top serving speeds of some of the most popular tennis players.
What is the Average Tennis Serve Speed?
To give a bit of context, the average speed of a first serve in tennis is usually around the 190-200 km/h or 120 mph mark in men’s professional tennis and around the 170-180 km/h or 105 mph mark in women’s professional tennis.
What is the fastest tennis serve ever recorded?
The fastest tennis serve ever recorded was hit by Australian player Sam Groth in Busan, South Korea in 2012, clocking in at a whopping 263.4 km/h or 163.7 mph.
However, given the fact that the serve was recorded at a ITF Challenger level event, the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) does not officially recognise it as the fastest serve due to a lack of uniformity in the calibration of the serve speed tracking equipment.
As such, American John Isner holds the ATP’s official record for the fastest serve at 253 km/h or 157.2 mph hit during the 2016 Davis Cup.