Sam Groth: The secret to big serving

Hitting a 263kph ace during at ATP Challenger event in Busan, South Korea, gave Sam Groth the record of fastest-ever recorded serve at a professional tennis event. 

When I hit a big serve that connects properly there is almost no better feeling. It comes out of the middle and before you know it, it’s crushing into the back fence.

I have always had a big serve and have been told by a lot of guys they think I have the biggest serve they’ve seen. But playing Challengers and outside courts, there isn’t often radar equipment. Also the conditions make a big difference in serving big, things like the type of ball, the temperature, humidity all come into play.

It’s hard to say whether I’ve hit bigger serves that aren’t recorded. When you are looking at it, I’m not sure anyone can see the difference between a serve that is 250 or 260 kph with the naked eye. At the moment, I am happy to say I have hit at least one that fast.

Thinking about beating my own record is honestly not something I think about when I’m out there. I am proud to have the record but, for me, the first goal is to win the point. If that comes from hitting a serve that breaks the record then great, but you don’t get bonus points for breaking serve records.

I play a power game, I am 6 foot 5 (195.5cm) and close to 100kg so I am not always going to grind long points with the other guys. I have worked hard this year physically, getting myself in better shape so I can play longer points and stay in rallies and get to that extra ball, but in the end, I am an aggressive player and power plays a big part in my game.

The fastest serves in tennis

This article first appeared in Australian Tennis Magazine