Ace (tennis)

In tennis, an ace is a legal serve that is not touched by the receiver, winning the point. 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.

Professional singles records

Aces have been officially recorded since 1991. These records include main draw matches only.

ATP Tour

John Isner holds the record for most aces in a professional tennis match

Goran Ivanišević holds the record for most aces in a tournament with 213 en route to winning the 2001 Wimbledon. He also has the most in a single season with 1,477 in 1996.

Ivo Karlović has the most career aces with 10,442. He also holds the record for aces in a best-of-three-set match with 45 at Halle in 2015. Two weeks later, during Wimbledon, he became the only player to hit at least 40 aces in three consecutive matches.

Roger Federer hit 50 aces in the 2009 Wimbledon final, the record for a Grand Slam final.

Most aces in a match

Aces	Player	W/L	Opponent	Round	Event	Sets
113	John Isner	W	Nicolas Mahut	1R	2010 Wimbledon	5
103	Nicolas Mahut	L	John Isner
78	Ivo Karlović	L	Radek Štěpánek	SF	2009 Davis Cup	5
55	Ivo Karlović	L	Lleyton Hewitt	1R	2009 French Open	5
53	Ivo Karlović	W	Alexandr Dolgopolov	2R	2015 Wimbledon	5
52	John Isner	L	Feliciano Lopez	3R	2014 Wimbledon	4
51	Joachim Johansson	L	Andre Agassi	4R	2005 Australian Open	4
	Ivo Karlović	L	Daniele Bracciali	1R	2005 Wimbledon	5
50	Roger Federer	W	Andy Roddick	F	2009 Wimbledon	5
49	Richard Krajicek	L	Yevgeny Kafelnikov	QF	1999 US Open	5

WTA Tour

Serena Williams holds the record for most aces in a tournament with 102 en route to winning the 2012 Wimbledon.

Most aces in a match

Aces	Player	W/L	Opponent	Round	Year	Event	Sets	Result
27	Sabine Lisicki	W	Belinda Bencic	2R	2015	Birmingham	2	6–1, 7–6(7–4)
24	Kaia Kanepi	W	Lucie Safarova	1R	2008	Tokyo	3	4–6, 6–3, 6–4
	Serena Williams	W	Victoria Azarenka	SF	2012	Wimbledon	2	6–3, 7–6(8-6)
23	Serena Williams	W	Zheng Jie	3R	2012	Wimbledon	3	6–7(5–7), 6–2, 9–7
22	Brenda Schultz	W	Iva Majoli	QF	1994	Birmingham	3	6–4, 5–7, 6–0
	Meghann Shaughnessy	W	Nicole Vaidišová	F	2005	Memphis	2	7–6, 7–6
	Alicia Molik	L	Venus Williams	QF	2007	Tokyo	2	6–7(4–7), 3–6
21	Michaëlla Krajicek	L	Camila Giorgi	2R	2015	's-Hertogenbosch	3	7–6(7–2), 2–6, 4–6
	Naomi Broady	W	Jelena Ostapenko	2R	2016	Auckland	3	4–6, 7–6(7–4), 7–5
20	Venus Williams	L	Lindsay Davenport	F	1998	Stanford	3	4–6, 7–5, 4–6
	Nicole Vaidišová	W	Jelena Janković	QF	2006	Linz	3	5–7, 7–6(7–5), 6–4
	Serena Williams	W	Elena Dementieva	SF	2009	Wimbledon	3	6–7(4–7), 7–5, 8–6
	Naomi Broady	W	Caroline Garcia	1R	2011	Birmingham	3	6–2, 6–7(5–7), 6–4
	Serena Williams	W	Samantha Stosur	4R	2012	Miami	2	7–5, 6–3
	Julia Görges	W	Agnieszka Radwańska	1R	2012	Olympics	3	7–5, 6–7(5–7), 6–4

See also

• Fastest recorded tennis serves