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 holds the record for most aces in a professional tennis match and entire tournament.

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
#PlayerW/LOpponentRoundEventSets
113United States John IsnerWFrance Nicolas Mahut1R2010 Wimbledon5
103France Nicolas MahutLUnited States John Isner
78Croatia Ivo KarlovićLCzech Republic Radek ŠtěpánekSF2009 Davis Cup5
75Croatia Ivo KarlovićWArgentina Horacio Zeballos1R2017 Australian Open5
64United States John IsnerWBelgium Ruben Bemelmans2R2018 Wimbledon5
61Croatia Ivo KarlovićWChinese Taipei Lu Yen-Hsun1R2016 US Open5
Croatia Ivo KarlovićLGermany Jan-Lennard Struff2R2018 Wimbledon5
56France Albano OlivettiLAustralia Matthew Barton1R2016 Wimbledon5
55Croatia Ivo KarlovićLAustralia Lleyton Hewitt1R2009 French Open5
53Croatia Ivo KarlovićWUkraine Alexandr Dolgopolov2R2015 Wimbledon5
Croatia Ivo KarlovićWJapan Yūichi Sugita2R2018 Australian Open5
United States John IsnerLSouth Africa Kevin AndersonSF2018 Wimbledon5
Seasons with 1000+ aces
#PlayerYears
6United States John Isner2010, 12, 15–18
4Croatia Goran Ivanišević1994, 96–98
Croatia Ivo Karlović2007, 14–16
2Canada Milos Raonic2012, 14
1United States Pete Sampras1993
United States Andy Roddick2004
South Africa Kevin Anderson2015
Other

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
#PlayerW/LOpponentRoundYearEventSetsResult
31Czech Republic Kristýna PlíškováLPuerto Rico Monica Puig2R2016Australian Open36–4, 6–7(6–8), 7–9
27Germany Sabine LisickiWSwitzerland Belinda Bencic2R2015Birmingham26–1, 7–6(7–4)
24Estonia Kaia KanepiWCzech Republic Lucie Šafářová1R2008Tokyo34–6, 6–3, 6–4
United States Serena WilliamsWBelarus Victoria AzarenkaSF2012Wimbledon26–3, 7–6(8-6)
23United States Serena WilliamsWChina Zheng Jie3R2012Wimbledon36–7(5–7), 6–2, 9–7
Czech Republic Kristýna PlíškováLFrance Océane Dodin1R2016Linz37–6(7-2), 5–7, 3–6
22Netherlands Brenda SchultzWCroatia Iva MajoliQF1994Birmingham36–4, 5–7, 6–0
United States Meghann ShaughnessyWCzech Republic Nicole VaidišováF2005Memphis27–6, 7–6
Australia Alicia MolikLUnited States Venus WilliamsQF2007Tokyo26–7(4–7), 3–6
21Netherlands Michaëlla KrajicekLItaly Camila Giorgi2R2015's-Hertogenbosch37–6(7–2), 2–6, 4–6
United Kingdom Naomi BroadyWLatvia Jelena Ostapenko2R2016Auckland34–6, 7–6(7–4), 7–5
Czech Republic Karolína Plíšková W SlovakiaDominika Cibulková SF 2017 Qatar 3 6–4, 4–6, 6–3
United Kingdom Naomi BroadyWCanada Carol Zhao1R2018Monterrey36–3, 6–7(5–7), 6–2

See also

References

  1. ace - Definition from Dictionary.com.
  2. TENNIS.com - Tip of the Week - December 19, 2005 - Your Second Serve Archived September 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
  3. "Allison Danzig". International Tennis Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
  4. 1 2 "ASAP Sports Transcripts - Tennis - 2007 - PRESS CONFERENCES - ATP TENNIS MEDIA CONFERENCE - August 8". www.asapsports.com.
  5. 1 2 "Five takeaways from Anderson's marathon win over Isner at Wimbledon". tennis.com. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  6. 1 2 3 "Aces - ATP World Tour - Tennis".
  7. "Karlovic beats Berdych with record 45 aces in Halle; Federer reaches semis".
  8. "Ivo Karlovic Strikes 41 Aces To Advance At Wimbledon - Tennis - ATP World Tour - ATP World Tour - Tennis".
  9. "Goran Ivanisevic - Player Stats - ATP World Tour - Tennis".
  10. "Federer outlasts Roddick for record 15th Slam". ESPN.com. 5 July 2009.
  11. 1 2 3 "Loading..." tennisbios.com.
  12. 2011, 6:05PM BST 16 Jun (16 June 2011). "Tennis record breaker Sam Querry shows how to serve quicker and smarter".
  13. "The New York Sun". Querrey Gives a Sample Of What May Be in Store. Retrieved July 31, 2007.
  14. "Serena taken to 3 sets, wins 5th Wimbledon".
  15. admin (18 November 2016). "Top 10 WTA Aces Leaders In 2016".
  16. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-01-24. Retrieved 2017-01-27.
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