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Fastest recorded tennis serve
263.4 km/h
163.67 mph
- Holder
- Sam Groth
Serve clocked at a Challenger event, where radars are not strictly calibrated: the ATP does not recognise it as the official record.
What to remember
The radar read 263.4 km/h in the second round of the 2012 Busan Open Challenger. Australian Sam Groth's serve is the fastest ever reported in professional tennis, but the ATP does not recognise it: radars are not strictly calibrated at Challenger events.
He is also credited with a non-outlier maximum of 236.6 km/h and an average first serve of 197.9 km/h. Groth reached world No. 53 in singles in August 2015 and No. 24 in doubles.
The history of fast serving is hazy. In the 1920s Bill Tilden reportedly served at 262.81 km/h, with nothing to verify it, and another of his serves was claimed at 263.30 km/h in 1931.
Related records
Sources and licences
- Value, holder and date: Wikipedia article “Fastest recorded tennis serves” (revision used 1376874822). Data from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Photo: Diane Krauss ( DianeAnna ), Photo licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons).
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