Ace (tennis)
Encyclopedia
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 (usually in the far corners of the service box).
The most common placement of an ace is a hard flat serve to either the middle or the corner of the service box, or a spin serve out wide such as a slice serve to the deuce court for right-handed servers, or a kick serve, also known as a topspin serve, to the ad court for right-handed servers.
, with 113 aces in a first round match
against Nicolas Mahut
at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships on June 22–24, 2010 (Mahut holds second place with 103 in the same match). Ivo Karlović
holds the third position, as he hit 78 aces in a Davis Cup
match on 18 September 2009.
The Isner-Mahut match
also holds several other Open Era records, including longest
match, at over eleven hours in length, and most combined aces - 216 in total.
The record for the fastest ace is held by Ivo Karlović
who served a 156 mph (~251 km/h) ace against Germany during the 2011 Davis Cup
.
At the 2007 Indianapolis Tennis Championships
, Sam Querrey
hit 10 consecutive aces when he defeated James Blake
in a quarterfinal. This is believed to be an Open Era record.
Goran Ivanišević
holds the record for most aces served in a year with 1477 in the 1996 season. He also holds the record for most career aces with 10,093.
In Woman's tennis, Venus Williams
holds the record for the fastest ace by a woman at 130 mph in the 2008 Zurich tournament. Her sister Serena Williams
holds the record for most number of aces in a tournament by a woman (89 aces at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships).
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, an ace is a legal serve
Serve (tennis)
A serve in tennis is a shot to start a point. A player begins a serve by tossing the ball into the air and hitting it into the diagonally opposite backside box without being stopped by the net. The ball can only touch the net on a return and will be considered good if it falls on the opposite side...
that is not touched by the receiver, winning the point
Point (tennis)
A point in tennis is the smallest subdivision of the match, the completion of which changes the score. A point can consist of a double fault by the server, in which case it is won by the receiver; otherwise, it begins with a legal serve by one side's server to the receiver on the other, and...
.
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 (usually in the far corners of the service box).
The most common placement of an ace is a hard flat serve to either the middle or the corner of the service box, or a spin serve out wide such as a slice serve to the deuce court for right-handed servers, or a kick serve, also known as a topspin serve, to the ad court for right-handed servers.
Records
The world record for most aces in a match is held by John IsnerJohn Isner
John Robert Isner is an American professional tennis player. He achieved his career-high rank of no. 18 on July 5, 2010, and has been as high as the second-ranked American tennis player behind Andy Roddick...
, with 113 aces in a first round match
Isner–Mahut match at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships
The Isner–Mahut match at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships is the longest match in tennis history, measured both by time and number of games. In the Gentlemen's Singles tournament first round, the American 23rd seed John Isner defeated the French qualifier Nicolas Mahut after 11 hours, 5 minutes of...
against Nicolas Mahut
Nicolas Mahut
Nicolas Pierre Armand Mahut is a French tennis player. Mahut is right-handed and has previously won the Orange Bowl in 1999, becoming professional in 2000. He is a good serve and volleyer and a doubles expert, having won many tournaments with his doubles partner Julien Benneteau. His career high...
at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships on June 22–24, 2010 (Mahut holds second place with 103 in the same match). Ivo Karlović
Ivo Karlovic
Ivo Karlović is a Croatian tennis player. He has won four ATP singles titles: three in 2007 and one in 2008. Karlović is the tallest player ever on the ATP Tour at 208 cm . He is a serve-and-volleyer, Karlovic holds the fastest serve recorded in professional tennis, measured at 251 km/h ...
holds the third position, as he hit 78 aces in a Davis Cup
Davis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain and the United States. By...
match on 18 September 2009.
The Isner-Mahut match
Isner–Mahut match at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships
The Isner–Mahut match at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships is the longest match in tennis history, measured both by time and number of games. In the Gentlemen's Singles tournament first round, the American 23rd seed John Isner defeated the French qualifier Nicolas Mahut after 11 hours, 5 minutes of...
also holds several other Open Era records, including longest
Longest tennis match records
This article details longest tennis match records by duration or number of games.The 1973 introduction of the tiebreak reduced the opportunity for such records to be broken...
match, at over eleven hours in length, and most combined aces - 216 in total.
The record for the fastest ace is held by Ivo Karlović
Ivo Karlovic
Ivo Karlović is a Croatian tennis player. He has won four ATP singles titles: three in 2007 and one in 2008. Karlović is the tallest player ever on the ATP Tour at 208 cm . He is a serve-and-volleyer, Karlovic holds the fastest serve recorded in professional tennis, measured at 251 km/h ...
who served a 156 mph (~251 km/h) ace against Germany during the 2011 Davis Cup
Davis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain and the United States. By...
.
At the 2007 Indianapolis Tennis Championships
2007 Indianapolis Tennis Championships
The 2007 Indianapolis Tennis Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 20th edition of the Indianapolis Tennis Championships, and was part of the International Series of the 2007 ATP Tour. It took place at the Indianapolis Tennis Center in Indianapolis,...
, Sam Querrey
Sam Querrey
Sam Austin Querrey is a professional American tennis player from Thousand Oaks, California currently living in Las Vegas, Nevada. As of August 2010, he is the fourth-highest ranked American. His career high rank was #17, achieved on January 31, 2011. His height allows him to play with a strong...
hit 10 consecutive aces when he defeated James Blake
James Blake
James Riley Blake is an American professional tennis player. Blake is known for his speed and powerful, flat forehand. As of August 2011, Blake is ranked no. 63 among active male players with 24 career finals appearances...
in a quarterfinal. This is believed to be an Open Era record.
Goran Ivanišević
Goran Ivaniševic
Goran Ivanišević is a retired Croatian professional tennis player. He is best remembered for being the only person to win the men's singles title at Wimbledon as a wildcard. He achieved this in 2001, having previously been runner-up at the championships in 1992, 1994 and 1998. Ivanišević is famous...
holds the record for most aces served in a year with 1477 in the 1996 season. He also holds the record for most career aces with 10,093.
In Woman's tennis, Venus Williams
Venus Williams
Venus Ebony Starr Williams is an American professional tennis player who is a former World No. 1 and is ranked World No. 101 as of 10 October 2011 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles as of 2011. She has been ranked World No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association on three separate...
holds the record for the fastest ace by a woman at 130 mph in the 2008 Zurich tournament. Her sister Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
holds the record for most number of aces in a tournament by a woman (89 aces at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships).