By Richard Pagliaro | @TennisNow | Wednesday, July 2, 2025
Photograph credit score: Rob Newell/CameraSport
Wimbledon—Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard launched a laser beam in spherical one—and it is solely a prelude of the huge missile to return.
The 6’8″ French flamethrower torched the quickest serve in Wimbledon historical past, a 153 mph blast that Taylor Fritz really returned in his opening-round win over Mpetshi Perricard.
Requested to gauge how briskly the following Wimbledon record-breaking blast shall be, Mpetshi Perricard initially joked “300 [kmh]” (about 186 mph) earlier than modifying it to nonetheless large estimation of 161 mph to 167 mph.
“To be sincere, I do not actually know,” Mpetshi Perricard mentioned. “The participant are stronger. They’ve a much bigger shoulder, so I do not know.
“260 [kmh], 270 [kmh], perhaps the following one going to be.”
It is extremely doubtless Mpetshi Perricard, who says he solely spends about 10 p.c of his follow time on serve, would be the rocket launcher sending that missile into flight.
Mpetshi Perricard’s serve is already listed because the ninth-fastest recorded serve of all-time, and the quickest on the majors, in Wikipedia. In keeping with Wikipedia, the record shouldn’t be “traditionally full.”
After going through the Frenchman in a Brisbane serving shoot-out earlier this season, Nick Kyrgios made a strong proclamation.
Probably the most large server of all time shouldn’t be named Isner, Karlovic, Roddick, Ivanisevic or Kyrgios himself, the explosive Aussie mentioned.
The 2022 Wimbledon finalist Kyrgios mentioned the largest serve “by far” he is ever seen belongs Mpetshi Perricard.
The 21-year-old Frenchman slammed 36 aces profitable a 7-6, 6-7, 7-6 Brisbane duel vs. Kyrgios.
Dealing with Mpetshi Perricard’s blasts for two-and-a-half hours, Kyrgios mentioned the Frenchman’s ferocious serve is second to none.
“Props to him. He is a hell of a participant,” Kyrgios mentioned of the French energy participant. “I’ve performed, you already know, Karlovic, Isner, Raonic, all the large servers, and he is received the largest serve by far. Yeah, that was attention-grabbing. And it sucked.
“I already knew that he favored to hit two first serves, however props to him, he is discovered what works for his sport fashion and he is dedicated to that. He’ll do some injury, for positive.
“He’ll have an extended profession. He is received a straightforward motion on his serve. There have been no actual dips in pace or something like that.”
Fritz mentioned Mpetshi Perricard’s historic serve proved a degree he is argued to coaches Paul Annacone and Iron Mike Russell— irrespective of how exhausting you hit, “physique serves are dangerous.”
“The humorous factor is, I at all times inform my coaches (when) they generally say perhaps I ought to attempt to serve (into the) physique … (that) I feel physique serves are terrible. I by no means win the purpose once I do it,” Fritz mentioned. “And I despatched the video (of the 153 mph serve) to my coach, saying: ‘There you go. He served the quickest serve within the historical past of Wimbledon proper into my chest, and I gained the purpose.
“So there’s your proof: Physique serves are dangerous.’”
