Ace (tennis)
In tennis, an ace is a legal serve that is not touched by the receiver, winning the point.[1] In professional tennis, aces are generally seen on a player's first serve, where the server can strike the ball with maximum force and take more chances with ball placement, such as the far corners of the service box.[2] According to the International Tennis Hall of Fame, this term was coined by the sports journalist Allison Danzig.[3]
Professional singles records
Aces have been officially recorded by the top-level professional tennis circuits since 1991,[4] so these records start at that time.
Only main draw singles matches are included here.
ATP Tour
John Isner has the most aces in a tournament with 214 during the 2018 Wimbledon,[5] and he has the most in a single match with 113 during his 11 hour encounter with Nicolas Mahut. He is also second on the career list.[6]
Ivo Karlović has the most career aces with 12,936.[6] He also has the most in a best-of-three-set match with 45 at Halle in 2015.[7] Two weeks later, during Wimbledon, he became the only player to hit at least 40 aces in three consecutive matches.[8]
Goran Ivanišević has the most in a single season with 1,477 in 1996.[9] He also has the second most in a tournament with 213 when he won the 2001 Wimbledon title.[5]
Roger Federer hit 50 aces in the 2009 Wimbledon final, the record for a Grand Slam final.[10] He is also third on the career list.[6]
- Most aces in a match
# | Player | W/L | Opponent | Round | Event | Sets |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
113 | W | 1R | 2010 Wimbledon | 5 | ||
103 | L | |||||
78 | L | SF | 2009 Davis Cup | 5 | ||
75 | W | 1R | 2017 Australian Open | 5 | ||
64 | W | 2R | 2018 Wimbledon | 5 | ||
61 | W | 1R | 2016 US Open | 5 | ||
L | 2R | 2018 Wimbledon | 5 | |||
56 | L | 1R | 2016 Wimbledon | 5 | ||
55 | L | 1R | 2009 French Open | 5 | ||
53 | W | 2R | 2015 Wimbledon | 5 | ||
W | 2R | 2018 Australian Open | 5 | |||
L | SF | 2018 Wimbledon | 5 |
- Seasons with 1000+ aces
# | Player | Years |
---|---|---|
6 | 2010, 12, 15–18 | |
4 | 1994, 96–98 | |
2007, 14–16 | ||
2 | 2012, 14 | |
1 | 1993 | |
2004 | ||
2015 |
- Other
- Most in a one-week tournament: 144 – John Isner at the 2007 Legg Mason Tennis Classic[4][11]
- Most consecutive: 10 – Sam Querrey against James Blake at 2007 Indianapolis[11][12][13]
- 5 consecutive aces when down love-40: Boris Becker against Andriy Medvedev and John Isner against Jiří Veselý[11]
WTA Tour
Serena Williams holds the record for most aces in a tournament with 102 en route to winning the 2012 Wimbledon title.[14]
Karolína Plíšková has the most aces in a single season with 530 in 2016,[15] which broke her own record of 517 in 2015.[16]
- Most aces in a match
# | Player | W/L | Opponent | Round | Year | Event | Sets | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
31 | L | 2R | 2016 | Australian Open | 3 | 6–4, 6–7(6–8), 7–9 | ||
27 | W | 2R | 2015 | Birmingham | 2 | 6–1, 7–6(7–4) | ||
24 | W | 1R | 2008 | Tokyo | 3 | 4–6, 6–3, 6–4 | ||
W | SF | 2012 | Wimbledon | 2 | 6–3, 7–6(8-6) | |||
23 | W | 3R | 2012 | Wimbledon | 3 | 6–7(5–7), 6–2, 9–7 | ||
L | 1R | 2016 | Linz | 3 | 7–6(7-2), 5–7, 3–6 | |||
22 | W | QF | 1994 | Birmingham | 3 | 6–4, 5–7, 6–0 | ||
W | F | 2005 | Memphis | 2 | 7–6, 7–6 | |||
L | QF | 2007 | Tokyo | 2 | 6–7(4–7), 3–6 | |||
21 | L | 2R | 2015 | 's-Hertogenbosch | 3 | 7–6(7–2), 2–6, 4–6 | ||
W | 2R | 2016 | Auckland | 3 | 4–6, 7–6(7–4), 7–5 | |||
W | SF | 2017 | Qatar | 3 | 6–4, 4–6, 6–3 | |||
W | 1R | 2018 | Monterrey | 3 | 6–3, 6–7(5–7), 6–2 |
See also
References
- ↑ ace - Definition from Dictionary.com.
- ↑ TENNIS.com - Tip of the Week - December 19, 2005 - Your Second Serve Archived September 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ "Allison Danzig". International Tennis Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
- 1 2 "ASAP Sports Transcripts - Tennis - 2007 - PRESS CONFERENCES - ATP TENNIS MEDIA CONFERENCE - August 8". www.asapsports.com.
- 1 2 "Five takeaways from Anderson's marathon win over Isner at Wimbledon". tennis.com. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
- 1 2 3 "Aces - ATP World Tour - Tennis".
- ↑ "Karlovic beats Berdych with record 45 aces in Halle; Federer reaches semis".
- ↑ "Ivo Karlovic Strikes 41 Aces To Advance At Wimbledon - Tennis - ATP World Tour - ATP World Tour - Tennis".
- ↑ "Goran Ivanisevic - Player Stats - ATP World Tour - Tennis".
- ↑ "Federer outlasts Roddick for record 15th Slam". ESPN.com. 5 July 2009.
- 1 2 3 "Loading..." tennisbios.com.
- ↑ 2011, 6:05PM BST 16 Jun (16 June 2011). "Tennis record breaker Sam Querry shows how to serve quicker and smarter".
- ↑ "The New York Sun". Querrey Gives a Sample Of What May Be in Store. Retrieved July 31, 2007.
- ↑ "Serena taken to 3 sets, wins 5th Wimbledon".
- ↑ admin (18 November 2016). "Top 10 WTA Aces Leaders In 2016".
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-01-24. Retrieved 2017-01-27.