Wimbledon’s fastest serve ever—and it’s not enough

Wimbledon may insist on its all-white dress code, but when it comes to serves, there are no rules—just raw power and record-breaking speed. On Monday night, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard let rip a 153mph missile, the fastest-ever recorded at the All England Club. Across the net, Taylor Fritz didn’t flinch — he just hit back, stared down two tiebreak losses, and levelled the match under the lights before the curfew shut the party down.

Playing under the closed roof of No 1 Court, with artificial lights adding to the late-night tension, the fifth-seeded American rallied from two sets down to force a decider against the towering 6-foot-8 Frenchman. The scoreboard read 6-7 (6), 6-7 (8), 6-4, 7-6 (6) when play was suspended at 10:15pm, just 45 minutes shy of the tournament’s strict 11pm cut-off.

Mpetshi Perricard’s record-breaking 153 mph serve came in the opening game, surpassing the previous Wimbledon mark of 148 mph set by Taylor Dent in 2010. But it wasn’t just a stat to file away — the serve set the tone for a match that featured 57 combined aces, with the Frenchman firing 33 and Fritz responding with 24.

Despite the barrage, Fritz managed to absorb the heat and find his rhythm. He clawed his way back into the match and let out a primal roar — “Let’s (expletive) go! Come on! ”— after taking the fourth-set tiebreak. The emotion was raw, the tension high, and yet the night was cut short not by nerves or errors, but by the clock.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” the chair umpire finally announced, “due to the late time of the day, we will not be able to finish the match. Therefore the match will be suspended until tomorrow.”

Fritz, who looked frustrated by the interruption, could only glance toward his player box and mutter: “I couldn’t do anything. I tried.”

Grass may no longer guarantee serve-and-volley, but it’s still the most punishing surface for returners. And Monday night proved why Wimbledon remains a paradise for those with cannonball arms and nerves of steel.

Mpetshi Perricard may have a new speed record, but the Wimbledon ace king remains John Isner, who hammered 214 aces in 2018. Goran Ivanisevic wasn’t far behind with 212 aces during his historic 2001 title run, which included 27 in the final against Patrick Rafter.

Records aside, Monday’s drama was a reminder that the serve is far from a formality at Wimbledon — it’s a show, a statement, and sometimes, a suspension-worthy storm.