<p>With the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/events/australian-open#:~:text=Who%20is%20favored%20to%20win,to%20beat%20on%20hard%20courts.">2026 Australian Open</a> just around the corner, starting Sunday, January 18 at Melbourne Park, the world’s best are preparing to do battle. While strategy, finesse and focus can win matches, a strong serve in tennis can be the ultimate equaliser.</p> <p>First serves in modern tennis are blink-and-you’ll-miss-it-fast, so we’ve crunched the numbers to figure out who has the strongest serve in men’s tennis.</p> <p>So, get keen for the return of the happy slam and check out our list of the fastest servers in tennis, based on career performances at Grand Slams.&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>Fastest Tennis Serves in the Modern Era</h2> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>10. Pete Sampras (223kmph)</h3> <p>While some players rely on blowing opponents off the park with the fastest serve possible, ‘Pistol Pete’ built a hall-of-fame career on elite serving skill, disguise, power and placement.</p> <p>The American had a strong service game that relied on subtlety and precision. He’d make opponents stretch to return, before volleying into oblivion anything that managed to come back over the net.</p> <p>Sampras finished his career with 3090 grand slam aces, 14 titles and has gone down as one of the best to ever do it.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>9. Wayne Arthurs (231kmph)</h3> <p>We can't talk about legendary serves without mentioning Aussie hero, Wayne Arthurs. He was feared in the 90s and 00s for his lethal service game, Andre Agassi even said, ‘Wayne Arthurs has one of the most beautiful serves you’ll ever see.’&nbsp;</p> <p>The left-handed Victorian once went on a ridiculous streak of 111 consecutive service games without being broken at Wimbledon, a testament to a service game that was absolutely untouchable.&nbsp;</p> <p>Arthurs served his way to defeating seven different world No.1’s during his career, including Pete Sampras, Andy Roddick and Pat Rafter.&nbsp;</p> <p>Arthurs finished his career in 2007 with 12 doubles titles and a singles high of World No. 44, proving that sometimes a really fast serve is all you need to match it with some of the best in the world.&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>8. Nick Kyrgios (230.1kmph)</h3> <p>The injured Nick ‘King’ Kyrgios can be a divisive figure, but no one can doubt his on-court talents. When we think of Kyrgios, we often think of his on-court antics, tweeners and trick shots, but Nick has an undeniably elite service game.</p> <p>Nick averages 17.8% aces on his serve, which is the seventh highest ace rate in grand slam history, beating out legendary players like Djokovic, Federer and Nadal.</p> <p>Unfortunately, Kyrgios will be out of the singles due to injury but catch him and Aussie teammate Thanasi Kokkinakis out as they compete for a second <a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/events/australian-open#:~:text=Who%20is%20favored%20to%20win,to%20beat%20on%20hard%20courts.">Doubles Title at the Aus Open.</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>7. Roger Federer (230kmph)</h3> <p>The Swiss maestro is arguably the GOAT of the sport, with his famous topspin forehand being pure poetry in motion for tennis fans. But Federer also had an underrated service game, relying on timing, finesse and power to get opponents on the backfoot.</p> <p>The ever-effortless Federer would serve with perfect technique, getting every ounce of power out of his serve, without over reaching or straining himself.</p> <p>The verified fastest serve in a tennis match that Roger recorded was an impressive 230kmph, during his physical prime in 2010. His consistency and longevity also made him a nightmare for opponents, and he finished his career with an untouchable 4507 grand slam aces, the most of all time.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>6. Reilly Opelka (240.3km)</h3> <p>Reilly Opelka has one of the fastest serves in tennis, clocking 240kmph at the 2021 Aus Open.</p> <p>Opelka is currently ranked at #62 but averages over 17 aces per match, which is by far the highest on the current ATP tour.</p> <p>At 2.11m tall and regularly serving over 200kmph, the American has physics on his side. Reilly will be looking to use this and blast his way through the competition as he heads to 2026’s Aus Open, a frightening prospect for those competing.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>5. Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (246kmph)</h3> <p>The man with the current fastest serve in tennis. He’s just 22 years old and he’s already clocked a 246kmph thunderbolt at Wimbledon, breaking the record for the fastest serve in the tournament’s history.&nbsp;</p> <p>Emblematic of the modern tennis player, Perricard is an athlete that is just getting started and may still have more records left in him.&nbsp;</p> <p>Currently ranked in the top 65, the Frenchman will be a frightening prospect for anyone standing across the net from him.&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>4. Milos Raonic (249.9kmph)</h3> <p>Known for his technical perfection, Canadian legend Milos Raonic officially retired from professional tennis on January 12, 2026, after a career that saw him reach a high of world number three and contest the 2016 <a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/betting/tennis/mens-wimbledon">Wimbledon final.</a></p> <p>Statistically, he remains one of the greatest servers in the open era, winning 71.7% of his service games, the third highest in Grand Slam history.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>3. Andy Roddick (249.9kmph)</h3> <p>Known for his explosive, rapid-fire motion, Andy Roddick once held the record for the fastest official serve in a Grand Slam at 244.6kmph.</p> <p>A-Rod the rocket man would serve like a slingshot and annihilate opponents, which he used to dominate the 2003 <a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/betting/tennis/mens-us-open">US Open Final.</a></p> <p>Roddick finished his career on 71.5% service points won in grand slams, the fourth most reliable service game in history.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>2. Ivo Karlovic (251kmph)</h3> <p>Standing at a towering 2.11m, the Croatian ‘Dr. Ivo’ is the joint-tallest player in professional tennis history. His height allowed him to serve, as if the ball was being fired out of a cannon on a hill, making his service nearly impossible to return.</p> <p>At the 2017 Australian Open, Karlovic fired 75 aces in a single match past Argentinian Horacio Zeballos. This set the tournament record and haunts the dreams of Zeballos to this day.</p> <p>Karlovic served his way to eight ATP tour singles titles and at 73.3% he holds the record for service points won at Grand Slams. An underrated giant of the game.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>1. John Isner (253kmph)</h3> <p>The GOAT of a big service game, the American giant John Isner undoubtedly holds the title of the strongest serve in tennis. He also holds the official record for the fastest serve in tennis, smashing a 253kmph heater at the Davis cup in 2016.</p> <p>Isner was a serial record-breaker, famously winning the longest match in tennis history at Wimbledon in 2010, where he hammered a ridiculous 113 aces in a single match.</p> <p>For over a decade, his serve was considered the most dominant weapon in the sport, allowing him to ace his way out of trouble whenever he was in a tight spot.</p> <p>Isner was ranked in the top 30 for almost a decade, but never made the final of a grand slam.</p> <p>Maybe this proves that while a powerful serve is a handy weapon, a complete, well-rounded game with a never-say-die mentality is more important for winning at the highest level of tennis.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>Honourable Mentions: Sam Groth (263 kmph… unofficially)</h3> <p>The unofficial title for the fastest serve ever recorded belongs to Aussie battler, former world No.53 turned state MP, Sam Groth. At a Challenger event in Busan back in 2012, Groth clocked a serve at a ridiculous 263kmph.&nbsp;</p> <p>While the ATP does not officially recognise Challenger records due to variations in radar equipment, we all remember his wicked serve.</p>