The WTA serve record is 131 mph—but a higher unofficial reading exists

Sabine Lisicki holds the WTA record for the fastest women’s serve: 131 mph (210.8 km/h). She recorded it against Ana Ivanovic at Stanford on July 29, 2014. As of September 29, 2026, the WTA still identifies that delivery as the fastest serve in tour history (WTA player profile).

There is, however, a higher competition reading. Georgina García Pérez served at 136.7 mph (220 km/h) in qualifying for the 2018 Hungarian Ladies Open. Guinness World Records lists it separately as an unofficial record because the tournament was not using the SMT/IDS speed-measurement technology employed for WTA and ATP main-draw matches (Guinness World Records).

What happened on Lisicki’s record serve?

Lisicki hit the 131 mph serve with the first set level at 5–5 in her opening-round match against Ivanovic. Ivanovic made racquet contact but sent the return wide, giving Lisicki the game. Ivanovic nevertheless won the match 7–6, 6–1 (Guinness World Records).

Because the returner touched the ball, the record serve was not an ace. It was a service winner under the distinction explained in our ace definition.

The point is a useful warning against treating maximum speed as a complete serving statistic. Lisicki won that point and game, but not the set or match. A speed record describes the fastest measured delivery—not how consistently a player served at that pace or how effective her serve was over the match.

Why isn’t 136.7 mph the WTA record?

The issue is measurement status rather than whether García Pérez played the serve in competition. She produced the 220 km/h reading against Patty Schnyder in the final qualifying round in Budapest on February 19, 2018. But Guinness says that court did not use the SMT/IDS system employed to record speeds in WTA and ATP main-draw matches. It therefore labels García Pérez’s mark “unofficial” while identifying Lisicki’s 131 mph as the WTA-recognized professional record (Guinness World Records).

That distinction also explains an earlier anomaly. Brenda Schultz-McCarthy registered a 130 mph serve in Cincinnati qualifying in 2006, but it was not recognized by the WTA because it occurred outside the main draw. Venus Williams then set the recognized mark at 129 mph during the 2007 US Open before Lisicki raised it by 2 mph in 2014 (Guinness World Records).

Record lists can therefore disagree without disagreeing about the displayed speeds. One may rank reported readings; another may include only measurements accepted under a tour’s record criteria. The precise answer is:

• WTA record: Sabine Lisicki, 131 mph.
• Guinness-listed unofficial record: Georgina García Pérez, 136.7 mph.

For comparisons across the men’s and women’s games, see the broader record serve in tennis. To judge serving performance rather than one peak reading, pair speed with placement, first-serve consistency, unreturned serves and service points won; our professional serve-speed guide explains that context.