Top 15 fastest women's tennis serves in the history of the game

Top 15 fastest women's tennis serves in the history of the game

Ciku Njuguna
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:27 PM

On average, the fastest tennis serves have clocked between 190km/h and 200km/h. This article will dive deep into the incredible achievements of women in the sport of tennis. Dig in and learn more about the fastest women's tennis serve ever.

The fastest tennis serve by female players
Serena Williams serves during a practice session before the start of the U.S. Open at the USTA Billie Jean King Center in August 2022 in New York City. Photo by Elsa.
Source: Getty Images

How fast do female tennis players serve? Reports indicate that female players' fastest tennis serve speeds are usually marked around 170 to 180 km/h or 105 to 111 mph. Discover professional players who surpassed the standard mark and broke historical records.

Who has the fastest serve in women's tennis history?

Numerous professional female players have served with over 200km/h speeds. However, governing bodies such as the Women's Tennis Association officially recognise few of the records.

Official recognition requires match officials to use WTA-certified tennis radar guns to measure serve speeds. In addition, hits made during minor matches, such as qualifiers, are not recognised. This article will highlight some of the most talented players who surpassed the average female tennis serve speed.

Rank

Player

Competition

Speed

1.

Georgina García Pérez

2018 Hungarian Ladies Open

220.0 km/h (136.7 mph)

2.

Aryna Sabalenka

2018 WTA Elite Trophy

214.0 km/h (133.0 mph)

3.

Sabine Lisicki

2014 Stanford Classic

210.8 km/h (131.0 mph)

4.

Brenda Schultz-McCarthy

2006 Cincinnati Masters

209.2 km/h (130.0 mph)

5.

Venus Williams

2007 U.S. Open

207.6 km/h (129.0 mph)

6.

Serena Williams

2013 Australian Open

207.0 km/h (128.6 mph)

7.

Coco Gauff

2022 U.S. Open

205.5 km/h (128 mph)

8.

Julia Görges

2012 French Open

202.9 km/h (126.1 mph)

9.

Brenda Schultz-McCarthy

2007 Indian Wells Masters

202.7 km/h (126.0 mph)

10.

Nadiia Kichenok

2014 Australian Open

202.0 km/h (125.5 mph)

11.

Anna-Lena Groenefeld

2009 Indian Wells

201.1km/h (125.0mph)

12.

Ana Ivanovic

2007 French Open

201 km/h (124.9 mph)

13.

Kristina Mladenovic

2009 French Open

198.5km/h (124.3 mph)

14.

Beatriz Haddad Maia

2022 Wimbledon Championships

189.9km/h (118 mph)

15.

Aleksandra Krunic

2014 U.S. Open

188km/h (117 mph)

15. Aleksandra Krunic - 188km/h (117 mph)

Krunick starts the ranking off with a 117 miles per hour serve against Victoria Azarenka during the women's singles match at the U.S. Open tournament in 2014. Although the rising star had won three qualifying matches, she lost to Azarenka 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.

14. Beatriz Haddad Maia - 189.9km/h (118 mph)

Records by Statista reveal that Haddad Mai held the fastest average serve record in women's tennis in 2022. Although she hit the speed at the start of the Wimbledon Championships at Wimbledon, her U.S. counterpart, Coco Gauff, beat the record after hitting two of the highest speeds, 122 mph, and 124 mph, at the games. Other stunners at the games include Petra Kvitová and Elena Rybakina, who launched 119mph serves.

Who has the hardest serve in pro tennis?
Beatriz Haddad Maia serves during her match against Agnieszka Radwanska at the ASB Women's Classic at the ASB Centre in January 2018 in Auckland, New Zealand. Photo by Anthony Au-Yeung.
Source: Getty Images

13. Kristina Mladenovic - 198.5km/h (124.3 mph)

Mladenovic's 198.5km/h hit catapults her to the top 15 women's tennis players with the fastest serves. The thirteenth fastest record came during the 2009 French Open tournament.

12. Ana Ivanovic - 201 km/h (124.9 mph)

Ivanovic launched the twelfth fastest women's tennis serve of all time during the 2007 French Open final match against seven-time Grand Slam champion Justine Hennin. Although Ivanovic eventually lost to Hennin, she took the 2007 record.

Who has the fastest serve in tennis history?
Ana Ivanovic in action against Tammi Patterson during the 2016 Australian Open at Melbourne Park in January 2016, in Melbourne, Australia. Photo by Cameron Spencer.
Source: Getty Images

11. Anna-Lena Groenefeld - 201.1km/h (125.0mph)

Various players, including Naomi Osaka and Lucie Hradecka, join the rank at the eleventh spot with record speeds of up to 125 miles per hour. Groenefeld retired in 2019 and hit the record at the 2009 Indian Wells in a match against French player Amélie Mauresmo. Here is a summary of other players who share this spot with Groenefeld.

Player

Tournament

Speed

Naomi Osaka

2016 U.S. Open Championships

125.0 mph / 201.1 km/hr

Lucie Hradecká

2015 Wimbledon Championships

125.0 mph / 201.1 km/hr

The world's top 10 fastest women's tennis serves

Who holds the fastest serve in women's tennis history? Scroll down and learn more about the swiftest players in the game.

Who has the fastest tennis serve, male or female?
Naomi Osaka in action during a match against Karolina Muchova at the Mutua Madrid Open tournament in May 2021 in Madrid, Spain. Photo by Mateo Villalba/Quality Sport Images.
Source: Getty Images

10. Nadiia Kichenok - 202.0 km/h (125.5mph)

Nadiia and her sister Lyudmila Kichenok have distinguished themselves as skilled tennis pros, ranking highly on WTA. However, Nadiia's prowess at launching impossibly fast hits set her apart. Although she lost to Ayumi Morita during the first round of the 2014 Australian Opens, she set the record for the swiftest hit, the highest in 2014.

9. Brenda Schultz-McCarthy - 202.7 km/h (126.0 mph)

Who is the best female tennis server of all time? As one of the hardest hitters in WTA, Dutch player Brenda Shultz has a 57% winning record in over 1000 singles and doubles matches. Although her second fastest hit was 126.0 mph, the retired pro recalls her fastest hit was 130mph.

8. Julia Görges - 202.9 km/h (126.1 mph)

Görges set the record in 2012 when she played against Lucie Hradecka at the French Open during the first round of the match. Alongside French tennis pro Carolina Gracia, Görges still holds one of the highest records in the game.

What is the fastest serve by a woman at Wimbledon?
Julia Goerges takes a hit in a match against Su-Wei Hsieh during the ASB Women's Classic at ASB Tennis Centre in January 2018 in Auckland, NZ. Photo by Anthony Au-Yeung.
Source: Getty Images

7. Coco Gauff - 205.5 km/h (128 mph)

Who has the fastest women's tennis serve in 2023? Coco Gauff's serve during the 2023 Australian Open clocked speeds of 195 kph (121 mph), the fastest in the tournament.

In addition, her 128 mph record at the 2022 U.S. Open is the second-highest speed in the United States after Venus Williams. Gauff, who could not believe her performance, later told the press,

"I did see the clock later, and it said 128. I looked at it, and I did not know how that happened. It did not feel like I hit it that hard. Sometimes, when you try to hit hard, it still goes fast, but that was not supposed to be that hard."

6. Serena Williams - 207.0 km/h (128.6 mph)

What is Serena Williams's fastest serve speed? During the 2013 Australian Open, Williams hit two 128.6 mph records in a match against Garbine Muguruza. She ranks sixth alongside Ivana Jorović, who clocked the same speeds at the 2017 Fed Cup.

What is Venus fastest serve?
Serena took part in the Women's Singles Final against Simona Halep at the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championship at the All England Lawn and Tennis Club in July 2019. Photo by Simon Bruty/Anychance.
Source: Getty Images

5. Venus Williams - 207.6 km/h (129.0 mph)

What is Venus Williams's fastest serve ever? The legendary tennis player clocked 129 mph speeds twice during her 2007 U.S. Open first-round match against Kira Nagy and her 2008 Wimbledon final match against her sister Serena. Here is a summary of other athletes who clocked at the same speeds.

Player

Competition

Speed

Ajla Tomljanovic

2008 Western & Southern Open Cincinnati

207km/hr (129 mph)

Alycia Parks

2021 U.S. Open Championships

207km/hr (129 mph)

4. Brenda Schultz-McCarthy - 209.2 km/h (130 mph)

Although Schultz recounts her record as 130 mph, reports state that her second record (129mph) came during her match against U.S. player Julia Cohen. Schultz, who had taken a six-year absence from active competition, returned with vigor to break Venus' standing record.

3. Sabine Lisicki - 210.8 km/h (131.0 mph)

What is the fastest women's tennis serve ever recorded? Sabine set the highest WTA-recognised record of 131 mph during the first round in the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, US, against Ana Ivanovic. Although Ivanovic went on to win 7-6, 6-1, she set a standing record on the fastest women's tennis serve ever recorded on the WTA tour.

Who has the fastest women's Wimbledon serve?
Sabine Liscki in action during the 2016 China Open Women's singles match against Elina Svitolina at the China National Centre in October 2016 in Beijing. Photo by Visual China Group.
Source: Getty Images

2. Aryna Sabalenka - 214 km/h (133 mph)

As of March 2023, Sabalenka occupies second place in the WTA singles ranking. The Belarussian player hit a record 214 km/hr speed during the 2018 WTA Elite Trophy tournament.

1. Georgina García Pérez - 220 km/h (136.7 mph)

Who is the fastest female server of all time? Popularly known as El Huracán (the Hurricane), Georgina García holds the Guinness World Record for the fastest serve by a female player in tennis history. During the 2018 Hungarian Ladies Open in Budapest, Pérez fired a 220 km/h (136.7 mph) serve in the final qualifying round against Patty Schnyder.

On average, male players record 27 km/hr speeds higher than their female counterparts. However, studies indicate that the fastest women's tennis serve records are consistently improving compared to male serving speeds.

READ ALSO: World rankings of the top 25 women tennis players in 2023

Sports Brief recently published an article ranking the world's top 25 female tennis players. These are the most well-known players in the world who have dominated the most prestigious championships, such as Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

Click on the link above to discover the 2023 women's tennis rankings.

Authors
Ciku Njuguna photo
Ciku Njuguna
Ciku Njuguna is a journalist with 3 year’s experience in content creation based in Kenya. She currently covers sports personnel as well as team biographies.