Photo: Mauricio Paiz
It’s fun to hit things hard.
Hockey has slap shots, baseball has home runs, basketball has slam dunks – fans love to see professional athletes push the laws of physics to the limit. Tennis is no different. Let’s take a look at seven players who broke the radar gun with just a racquet and a ball.
Serve
Sam Groth – 163.7 mph
This guy smashes bombs on the regular. He hit a tennis ball faster than it’s EVER been hit before.
Sabine Lisicki – 131.0 mph
The 26-year-old German is one of the most-feared servers on tour. She also holds the WTA record for most aces in a match, with 27.
Milos Raonic – 155.3 mph
At 2012 Rogers Cup, Milos put on a show for the home fans. In 2016, he has won 81% of points on first serve and 58% on second serve, ranking second on tour in both categories. There isn’t footage from Toronto, but watch him stun Roddick in Memphis.
Forehand
There is a ton of debate over who really hit the fastest forehand, but when you think about it, who cares? They’re all fun to watch.
James Blake – 125 mph
I don’t think you realize how fast this is. This is faster than most serves. He doesn’t even hit it AWAY from his opponent. By the time the server lands, the ball is by him (not to mention, on match point at the US Open). In his prime, Blake’s forehand was really something to behold.
And to be honest, this one looks even faster.
Gael Monfils – 120 mph
This freak of nature hits blistering forehands whenever he wants, it seems. Enjoy the clips below, really though, grab the popcorn.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owP87hSX2mg
Serena Williams – 96 mph
Serena is repping the ladies in the forehand department, which is a surprise to no one. Her forehand bombs have haunted the dreams of helpless opponents (and casual spectators) for years.
Backhand
Rafael Nadal – 103 mph
This is the fastest recorded backhand on the web, and it is definitely possible that there have been some recent breakthroughs on that front, cc: Stan Wawrinka. Rafa has lost some pop in the last couple years, but back in the day, his backhand rip was brutally powerful. Just ask Roger or Novak, they would know.
Bonus: Roger Federer – not recorded
Let your eyes be the radar gun on this one.