By Richard Pagliaro | @TennisNow | Wednesday, July 2, 2025
Photo credit: Rob Newell/CameraSport
Wimbledon—Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard launched a laser beam in round one—and it’s only a prelude of the massive missile to come.
The 6’8″ French flamethrower torched the fastest serve in Wimbledon history, a 153 mph blast that Taylor Fritz actually returned in his opening-round win over Mpetshi Perricard.
Asked to gauge how fast the next Wimbledon record-breaking blast will be, Mpetshi Perricard initially joked “300 [kmh]” (about 186 mph) before modifying it to still massive estimation of 161 mph to 167 mph.
“To be honest, I don’t really know,” Mpetshi Perricard said. “The player are stronger. They have a bigger shoulder, so I don’t know.
“260 [kmh], 270 [kmh], maybe the next one going to be.”
It’s highly likely Mpetshi Perricard, who says he only spends about 10 percent of his practice time on serve, will be the rocket launcher sending that missile into flight.
Mpetshi Perricard’s serve is already listed as the ninth-fastest recorded serve of all-time, and the fastest at the majors, in Wikipedia. According to Wikipedia, the list is not “historically complete.”
After facing the Frenchman in a Brisbane serving shoot-out earlier this season, Nick Kyrgios made a powerful proclamation.
The most massive server of all time is not named Isner, Karlovic, Roddick, Ivanisevic or Kyrgios himself, the explosive Aussie said.
The 2022 Wimbledon finalist Kyrgios said the biggest serve “by far” he’s ever seen belongs Mpetshi Perricard.
The 21-year-old Frenchman slammed 36 aces winning a 7-6, 6-7, 7-6 Brisbane duel vs. Kyrgios.
Facing Mpetshi Perricard’s blasts for two-and-a-half hours, Kyrgios said the Frenchman’s ferocious serve is second to none.
“Props to him. He’s a hell of a player,” Kyrgios said of the French power player. “I have played, you know, Karlovic, Isner, Raonic, all the big servers, and he’s got the biggest serve by far. Yeah, that was interesting. And it sucked.
“I already knew that he liked to hit two first serves, but props to him, he’s found what works for his game style and he’s committed to that. He’s going to do some damage, for sure.
“He’s going to have a long career. He’s got an easy action on his serve. There were no real dips in speed or anything like that.”
Fritz said Mpetshi Perricard’s historic serve proved a point he’s argued to coaches Paul Annacone and Iron Mike Russell— no matter how hard you hit, “body serves are bad.”
“The funny thing is, I always tell my coaches (when) they sometimes say maybe I should try to serve (into the) body … (that) I think body serves are awful. I never win the point when I do it,” Fritz said. “And I sent the video (of the 153 mph serve) to my coach, saying: ‘There you go. He served the fastest serve in the history of Wimbledon right into my chest, and I won the point.
“So there’s your proof: Body serves are bad.’”
