Wimbledon 2024: Top five fastest serves ft. Ben Shelton, Carlos Alcaraz and more

Speed barriers were broken at 2024 Wimbledon with Perricard and Shelton launching 140-mph rockets.

The 2024 Wimbledon Championships witnessed the breaking of several records. Barbora Krejcikova’s victory marked the eighth consecutive occasion of a new Wimbledon women’s singles winner. Meanwhile, Carlos Alcaraz became the youngest player to win Wimbledon and Roland-Garros in the same calendar year. The Spaniard also ranks third among the youngest players to defend a Wimbledon title.

While several players entered the history books, some dreams remained unfulfilled. Novak Djokovic failed to win his eighth title, ensuring Roger Federer‘s record of eight Wimbledon titles remains intact.

The 2024 summer season saw an incredible display of breathtaking tennis, with the importance of fast and precise serves coming to the fore yet again. Aces are a crucial part of the game that help determine a player’s success, particularly on grass.

This year, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard stunned everyone with his serving, ending up as the player with the most aces (115). The blazing Kazakh, Elena Rybakina, topped the list for women’s singles with 39 aces.

Serving is a crucial asset on grass courts due to the surface’s speed and bounce, making it difficult for players to return effectively. Grass courts favour powerful and well-placed serves that can result in aces or setup dominant positions in rallies. The fast nature of the surface challenges players’ reaction time leading to shorter rallies, reiterating the importance of holding serve.

5. Taylor Fritz: 136 mph

Taylor Fritz, who had a decent outing in this year’s Wimbledon, played one of the matches of the tournament against his German counterpart, Alexander Zverev. Being two sets down, the American was heading towards another round four exit.

However, he displayed incredible resilience and composure, aided by Zverev’s fatigue, to fashion a stunning comeback. This terrific recovery wouldn’t have been possible without the 26-year-old’s remarkable service. Fritz’s first serve percentage in the first two sets lurked in the 50s and 60s; interestingly, it shot up in the third and fourth sets to 71% and 74%, respectively.

Under pressure, the American unleashed a blazing 136 mph first serve, not only winning him a crucial point but also serving as a bold statement to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics gold medalist.

4. Carlos Alcaraz: 136 mph

Carlos Alcaraz’s accomplishment is seen as the passing of the baton by several tennis experts. Unlike the 2023 final, this year the 24-time Grand Slam champion, Novak Djokovic, was no match for the Spaniard. In his admission after the match, the Serb acknowledged being outplayed by the 21-year-old.

Particularly in the first two sets and the all-important tiebreak in the third, the four-time Grand Slam winner showcased a masterclass in his service, volleys, returns and maneuvers with agility across the court, highlighting his exceptional skill-set in all aspects of the game.

Unlike the Serb, who was broken on several occasions throughout the match, it was extremely tough to get a hold of Alcaraz’s serve and every time the 37-year-old felt he had a chance to get ahead on the Spaniard’s serve, he was met by a crushing stroke including one which clocked 136 mph.

3. Holger Rune: 138 mph

Holger Rune, once considered as one of the young tennis sensations, has not lived up to the expectations. It was always going to be a tough challenge to face Djokovic in the fourth round, but his performance before that too wasn’t as convincing as he would have hoped for.

There is no shortage of talent in the 21-year-old, as seen in his five-set clash against the French qualifier, Quentin Halys, when under pressure he showcased a great display of defensive skills and hammered a stunning 138 mph serve, the third-fastest of the tournament.

The Dane would hope to make the best use of the abundant talent at his disposal by improving his shot selection and consistency in long rallies, to make a bigger impression in future Grand Slams.

2. Ben Shelton: 140 mph

Ben Shelton’s rare ability to hammer serves to go as high as 140 mph- the highest in the tournament tied with Perricard is a testimony to his on-court prowess. Many believed that he broke the Wimbledon record for the fastest serve when the speed gun showed one of his serves to have clocked 153 mph.

However, soon after checking with IBM, a spokesperson explained that “one of [Shelton’s] serves was incorrectly recorded and displayed courtside as 153 mph. Following a review, this has been corrected to 132 mph.”

Shelton’s fastest serve came against Canada’s Dennis Shapovalov and it was his strong forehand and ruthless serving that helped him claim the victory in an intense five-set contest. However, soon after, the 21-year-old battled against World No. 1 Jannik Sinner, who defeated the 15th seed in straight sets.

Despite the loss, the silver-lining for the American was his ability to strike 15 aces against the Italian, clearly a strength of his that will help him go a long way in future Slams.

1. Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard: 140 mph

Arguably the best server of the tournament, Mpetshi Perricard enjoyed a memorable campaign at the All Egland Laan Tennis Club. Showing similarities to Australia’s Nick Kyrgios, the Frenchman has been brutal with his serve, which has aided him during his journey from a qualifier to playing against 25th seed Leonardo Musetti in the fourth round.

Scoring the most number of aces in Wimbledon (115) and topping the list of the fastest first serve is no mean accomplishment. Despite being aware of his powerful serves, opponents were still unable to execute their game-plan against the Frenchman, highlighting the 21-year-old’s ability to keep improving and adapting himself according to the challenge ahead.

Perricard’s massive 140 mph serve, delivered during the third round tiebreaker against Emil Ruusuvuori, reaffirms the importance of serving and nailing aces to succeed at Wimbledon.

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