Top 5 Fastest Tennis Serves Ever Recorded

The effectiveness of a strong service game in tennis can not be understated, and for these select few, even attempting to return one would prove troublesome. Below Sportscasting take a look at some of the fastest tennis serves ever recorded.

Top 5 Fastest Tennis Serves Ever Recorded

5. Milos Raonic – 155.3mph (249.9km/h)

Few have a serve reel as emphatic as Milos Raonic, who is widely heralded for having one of the biggest serves the Tour has ever witnessed.

The Canadian’s career might be entering its twilight, but he is still proving a considerable uphill battle for opponents . Just ask Cameron Norrie, who faced a barrage of aces at Queens in June with little retort – in fact, Raonic registered 47 aces which set a new record for a best-of-three ATP match.

Although his average first serves sits at around 125mph across his career, the fastest came at the SAP Open in 2012 where he crashed a 155.3mph serve past Viktor Troicki.

=4. Ivo Karlovic & Jerzy Janowicz – 156mph (251km/h)

Ivo Karlovic and Jerzy Janowicz are forced to share the number four spot, with both hitting 156mph serves within a year of each other.

Interestingly, the former’s came in a doubles match at the 2011 Davis Cup, making it the only non-singles serve to crack the top five.

As for the latter, his came in his native Poland at the 2012 Pekao Szczecin Open in a relatively low stakes first round match.

3. John Isner – 157.2mph (253km/h)

John Isner is perhaps best remembered for featuring in the longest tennis match of all time at Wimbledon in 2010, but the American is also revered for his monstrous serve.

His unbreakable service game is one of the reasons why that match with Nicolas Mahut lasted for over 11 hours, and the now-39-year-old averages 125mph on his first serves across a long career.

His 157.2mph serve in a Davis Cup first round match in 2016 remains the official fastest serve on the ATP Tour – you can see footage of it below.

Blink and you’ll miss it.

2. Albano Olivetti – 160mph (257.5km/h)

Clocking in at number two is Frenchman Albano Olivetti, who is best known for being a doubles specialist.

However, his record serve came in a singles 2012 Challenger in Bergamo and is only one of two men to crack 160mph.

Unfortunately for Olivetti, his incredible feat is not officially recognised by the ATP due to variance of radar guns at Challenger events, but it remains popular tennis folklore and it is widely recognised as the second fastest recorded serve of all time.

1. Sam Groth – 163.7mph (263.4km/h)

Much like Olivetti, Sam Groth’s record is not officially recognised by the ATP, but he achieved a 163.7mph serve back in 2012 whilst competing at the Busan Open.

It is the fastest serve ever to be recorded – you can see for yourself below, and the footage is truly remarkable. Although the video is far from high-definition, you get a sense of the power just from the thunderous noise of the ball leaving his racket, almost as if a bullet from a gun had been fired.