Report: Bethanie Mattek breaks fastest serve record at Roland Garros
Posted by Aaress Lawless on Jun 1, 2006 | Print
| 
Boris Becker’s company website has noted on their weblog that Sony Ericsson WTA Tour player Bethanie Mattek has broken the fastest serve record for a woman at Roland Garros.
The blog entry states that Mattek, who is currently ranked at No. 102 - just one spot from her career high of No. 101, hit a 120.55mph (194kph) ace during her opening round match against Flavia Pennetta.
I have yet to see any “official” confirmation or even any documentation on what the record is, but I am curious to know if this really did break the record. If Mattek did indeed power an ace that fast, she came pretty close to beating the recognized record of the fastest woman’s serve ever recorded. Venus Williams holds that record at 127.4mph which she blasted at the European Indoor Championships in 1998.
Ana Ivanovic’s website says that she fired the fastest serve of the 2005 tournament last year at Roland Garros, but Ivanovic’s serve was 121mph (194kph). That sounds pretty close to Mattek’s serve to me. (I would hate for this to turn out to be like Jason Gatlin’s 100m record)
So, if any of you out there know about the past record for the fastest ladies serve at Roland Garros, please leave a comment and let me know.
Oh, and in case the rest of you were wondering why Boris Becker would be interested in this fascinating little piece of tennis trivia, it is because Mattek plays with the Volkl DNX9 tennis racquet. Becker is co-owner of the Volkl tennis division.
If you enjoyed this tennis article, please sign up for a free subscription!
Sorry, comments for this entry are closed at this time.