Better All The Time: Isner’s Mind-Bogging Serve Stats

John Isner has averaged north of 1,000 aces per season for the past 10 years and just posted his second highest ace total to finish 2018.

An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of Isner’s prodigious serving identifies that he hit 1,213 aces this year, which is second only to the 1,260 he crushed in 2015. He has averaged 1,024 aces per season during the past decade, which firmly cements his place as one of the biggest servers our sport has ever seen.

Isner led the tour in most aces hit for the third straight season, and has now finished first in the category in six of the past 10 seasons. If anything, his serve is getting better, as he has not dipped below 1,000 aces in the past four seasons, after being under that mark in the previous three years.

Isner won the biggest title of his career earlier this season at the Miami Open presented by Itau, hitting 78 aces while committing just eight double faults in 70 service games to win his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title.

Isner narrowly finished second this season to Ivo Karlovic on the ATP Serve LEADERBOARD, powered by Infosys Nia Data, with the average amount of aces hit per match.

2018: Average Aces Per Match
Ivo Karlovic = 22.7
John Isner = 22.5
Nick Kyrgios = 19.8
Milos Raonic = 17.5
Kevin Anderson =16.4

Isner’s 2018 average aces per match total was his second highest in the past 10 years, and was a major driving force for the 33-year-old American qualifying for his first Nitto ATP Finals in London last month, and enjoying a career-high ranking of No. 8 in July.

Read & Watch: Isner Surges To Historic Miami Title

Isner’s average aces per match has steadily climbed during the past decade.

John Isner – Average Aces Per Match
2018 = 22.5
2017 = 19.7
2016 = 23.2
2015 = 18.5
2014 = 17.4
2013 = 16.3
2012 = 16.8
2011 = 14.7
2010 = 17.5
2009 = 14.5

Isner now sits in second place on the all-time ace list with 10,937 aces from 609 matches. The only man ahead of him is 39-year-old Karlovic, who has 12,936 aces from 657 matches. Two quality seasons from Isner, and that 1,999 ace gap could quickly vanish.