News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MIAMI, FL, USA – Bethanie Mattek-Sands’ straight sets victory over No.9 seed Elina Svitolina was special for a number of reasons: the American wildcard was celebrating her 32nd birthday in style, notching her first Top 10 win since 2015 in the 7-5, 6-4 upset.

But one of the three aces Mattek-Sands hit during the match nearly gave her even more reason to celebrate, and almost added her name to the WTA all-time records book.

The serve registered 131 mph (210.8 kmh), but was later deemed unofficial due to interference. Had it it been verified, it would have the all-time record for fastest WTA serve ever recorded.

“The serve was an ace and it took a little bit for the miles per hour to show up,” Mattek-Sands told wtatennis.com on Thursday. “I remember I just looked back and it went, ‘131’ and I stopped.

“I looked over at Justin [Sands] and my coach, and I said to them, ‘Does that say 131?’ And they were like, ‘Yeah, that’s 131!’

Still, Mattek-Sands pulled off an impressive serving performance, averaging between 110 and 115mph on her first serves.

Check out the current all-time list:

1. Sabine Lisicki – 131.0mph / 210.8kph (2014 Stanford)
2. Venus Williams – 129.0mph / 207.6kph (2007 US Open)
3. Serena Williams – 128.6mph / 207.0kph (2013 Australian Open)
4. Julia Goerges – 126.1mph / 203.0kph (2012 French Open)
5. Brenda Schultz-McCarthy – 126.0mph / 202.7kph (2007 Indian Wells)
6. Nadiia Kichenok – 125.5mph / 202.0kph (2014 Australian Open)
7T. Lucie Hradecka – 125.0mph / 201.2kph (2015 Wimbledon)
7T. Naomi Osaka – 125.0mph / 201.2kph (2016 US Open)
9. Anna-Lena Groenefeld – 125.0mph / 201.1kph (2009 Indian Wells)
10T. Ana Ivanovic – 124.9mph / 201.0kph (2007 French Open)
10T. Denisa Allertova – 124.9mph / 201.0kph (2015 Australian Open)

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