We often hear praises about the men in tennis, that Roger Federer is one of the best, if not the best, servers of all time. Or the Big 4 is probably the best quartet in the history of the sport, and their combined achievements will be hard to equal within the next decades.
But what about the women? Women’s tennis has been fighting for equal treatment, equal media exposure, and equal pay. Hard to argue since female players have been enjoying the same popularity as their male counterparts. And not just because of their fashion choices, women’s tennis has proven itself to bring the same excitement and power in recent years.
Speaking of power, many spectators don’t realize how powerful a serve can be. Average tennis serves are from 160-230 km/h for the men and 140-180 km/h for the women. They don’t just hit the ball, either; they must apply a particular spin that will make it hard for the opponent to return it.
While strength is a significant factor in achieving speed, technology, height, and technique are also factors to optimize that strength. Today’s athletes can push those three with more tools at their disposal. At the same time, tennis radar guns are also improving technologically to record the players’ serve accurately.
So who are the hard hitters in women’s tennis? These players were measured using the following criteria: power, serving accuracy, and spin. We focused this list to active players on tour.
Serena Williams
Not a surprise here. Serena has 23 Grand Slam titles to her belt, more than any other man or woman in the Open era (Federer has 20). Plus, she and sister Venus has won 14 Grand Slam doubles and three doubles gold medals at the Olympics.
Her serve plays a considerable part in her success. She regularly clocks in at over 160 km/h, and she’s third on the list of all-time fastest servers. She has a fluid swing and hits exceptionally well on the essential points.
Sabine Lisicki
Sabine’s first serve is her most powerful weapon; it is almost always impossible to return, putting pressure even on Serena whenever they play. The German holds the record of the fastest serve in women’s tennis history when she hit a 210 km/h at the Bank of West Classic match in 2014.
Sabine has won four singles and four doubles titles. She was a runner-up at Wimbledon in 2011, losing to French Marion Bartoli.
Venus Williams
Venus is a seven-time Grand Slam singles champion and one of the top rivals of her younger sister, Serena. They have battled for several singles finals, and they were always epic. The tennis world roused in excitement, and stadiums are filled to the brim whenever the sisters were to play a match against each other.
She is also one of the biggest servers on tour. She recorded a 207 km/h serve at the 2007 US Open with only Lisicki able to top it. She hits with enormous power and accuracy that spells problems for her opponents. Her game is hard to beat when she does a perfect first serve; however, her second serve is her biggest liability.
There you have it, the cream of the crop in women’s tennis when it comes to the first serve. Tennis is one sport that shows us that women can be as strong as men.
