The anatomy of a record Wimbledon serve

The Age

3 days ago

Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard may have left the Wimbledon field for another year, but his record-breaking 246km/h serve will be remembered – not least by American Taylor Fritz who was on the receiving end.
Fritz somehow managed to return the missile – the fastest in tournament history – to win the point in Tuesday's match, and Mpetshi Perricard was ultimately beaten 6-7(6-8), 6-7(8-10), 6-4, 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 to exit in the first round.
But the shot will stick in the minds of fans around the globe who have marvelled at the speed, accuracy and agility of tennis greats on display at Wimbledon.
In a clear sign of just how the art of the serve has captivated fans around the world, an Instagram post of world No.1 Jannik Sinner appearing to serve a ball on to a match stick, lighting it in the process, has garnered more than 475,000 likes.
Much of Tuesday's post-match focus was on Mpetshi Perricard's reputation for hitting huge serves, which the 21-year-old told reporters came naturally.
'I didn't check the speed, to be honest... I lost the point,' the six-foot-eight Frenchman said. 'I'm not doing some special technique to have a big serve or a fast serve. I'm serving like I'm supposed to do.'
But what actually goes into a great serve? We spoke to professional tennis coach Marc Sophoulis, from the Melbourne International Tennis School, to find out.
'The big thing with Mpetshi Perricard's serve [is that] he has a step-up serve, gaining a lot of momentum from his back foot moving up to his front foot before he serves,' Sophoulis, who has worked with Anastasia and Arina Rodionova, Victor Hanescu, and the Bryan brothers, observes.