This article will look at how fast pro tennis players on the ATP and WTA Tours hit their forehands.
The forehand speeds below were mostly sourced from data released by the tournament organizers at the 2021 Australian Open in relation to the top 10 average forehand speeds and top 10 fastest forehand speeds recorded at the 2021 tournament in Melbourne.
We will also look at the average forehand speeds of top tennis players like Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Serena Williams.
Average Forehand Speeds in Tennis
Average Forehand Speeds in Men’s tennis
Nikoloz Basilashvili had the fastest average forehand recorded for a male player at the 2021 Australian Open with an average forehand speed of 82.5 MPH.
| ATP Player | Forehand Speed (km/h) | Forehand Speed (mph) |
|---|---|---|
| Nikoloz Basilashvili | 132.7 | 82.5 |
| Marin Cilic | 129.7 | 80.6 |
| Botic van de Zandschulp | 129.4 | 80.4 |
| Soon-woo Kwon | 128.9 | 80.1 |
| Norbert Gombos | 128.3 | 79.9 |
| Andreas Seppi | 127.6 | 79.3 |
| Aslan Karatsev | 127.6 | 79.3 |
| Reilly Opelka | 127.4 | 79.2 |
| Jan-Lennard Struff | 127.0 | 78.9 |
| Guido Pella | 126.5 | 78.6 |
| Rafael Nadal* | 122.9 | 76.4 |
| Roger Federer** | 111.1 | 69.0 |
*Average Forehand Speed of Rafael Nadal at the 2021 Monte Carlo Masters.
**Average Forehand Speed of Roger Federer at the 2019 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.
Average Forehand Speeds in Women’s Tennis
Veronika Kudermetova had the fastest average forehand recorded for a female player at the 2021 Australian Open with an average forehand speed of 76.6 MPH.
| WTA Player | Forehand Speed (km/h) | Forehand Speed (mph) |
|---|---|---|
| Veronika Kudermetova | 123.3 | 76.6 |
| Liudmila Samsonova | 123.0 | 76.4 |
| Jennifer Brady | 122.0 | 75.8 |
| Camila Giorgi | 121.6 | 75.6 |
| Arantxa Rus | 121.5 | 75.5 |
| Danka Kovinic | 120.9 | 75.1 |
| Maria Sakkari | 120.9 | 75.1 |
| Bernarda Pera | 120.6 | 74.9 |
| Kaia Kanepi | 120.6 | 74.9 |
| Katie Boulter | 120.3 | 74.7 |
| Serena Williams*** | 117.5 | 73.0 |
***Average Forehand Speed of Serena Williams according to Stats on the T.
Fastest Forehand Speeds in Tennis
Top 10 Fastest Forehand Speeds at the 2021 Australian Open (ATP)
The fastest forehand speed recorded at the 2021 Australian Open by a male player was 105.3 MPH and was hit by the American Reilly Opelka.
| # | ATP Player | Forehand Speed (km/h) | Forehand Speed (mph) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reilly Opelka | 169.5 | 105.3 |
| 2 | Alexei Popyrin | 168.2 | 104.5 |
| 3 | Nick Kyrgios | 167.6 | 104.1 |
| 4 | Casper Ruud | 167.3 | 103.9 |
| 5 | Matteo Berrettini | 166.5 | 103.5 |
| 6 | Alex Bolt | 166.4 | 103.4 |
| 7 | Laslo Djere | 166.1 | 103.2 |
| 8 | Aslan Karatsev | 166.0 | 103.1 |
| 9 | Vasek Pospisil | 165.5 | 102.8 |
| 10 | Hubert Hurkacz | 164.8 | 102.4 |
Top 10 Fastest Forehand Speeds at the 2021 Australian Open (WTA)
The fastest forehand speed recorded at the 2021 Australian Open by a female player was 98.5 MPH and was hit by Arantxa Rus.
| # | WTA Player | Forehand Speed (km/h) | Forehand Speed (mph) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arantxa Rus | 158.6 | 98.5 |
| 2 | Kaia Kanepi | 156.2 | 97.1 |
| 3 | Olga Danilovic | 155.2 | 96.4 |
| 4 | Kristina Mladenovic | 154.5 | 96.0 |
| 5 | Donna Vekic | 154.1 | 95.8 |
| 6 | Maria Sakkari | 152.5 | 94.8 |
| 7 | Iga Swiatek | 152.4 | 94.7 |
| 8 | Sloane Stephens | 152.3 | 94.6 |
| 9 | Jennifer Brady | 151.5 | 94.1 |
| 10 | Veronika Kudermetova | 151.1 | 93.9 |