It All Adds Up: Mpetshi Perricard's serve sizzles above all others

Scorecards

It All Adds Up: Mpetshi Perricard's serve sizzles above all others

Frenchman averaged fastest first and second-serve speed in 2025

Getty Images/ATP Tour

By ATP Staff

During the Australian Open, ATPTour.com will bring fans insight into the leaders of key statistical categories, showing how performances throughout 2025 all added up to successful seasons and the promise of more good times ahead in 2026.

Standing across the net from Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard as the Frenchman prepares to serve is one of the most daunting sights in pro tennis. The 22-year-old does not only possess one of the biggest serves in the sport, he also relishes the boldness it allows. He embraces any and all risk behind his lethal weapon, putting the returner in a constant battle.

In 2025, Mpetshi Perricard led the ATP Tour in average first-serve speed, clocking in at 134.4 mph (216.3 kph). American Reilly Opelka ranked a distant second at 130.6 mph.

"His technique is so fluid," said Craig O'Shannessy, the Frenchman's strategy analyst. "You see him load back with his energy and drive so well with the legs.

"With his height, looseness in his arm and wrist and energy coiling up through the body, he's able to hit the ball harder than anyone else in the game. He has a very lively wrist at the end of that kinetic chain."

Fastest Average First-Serve Speed, 2025

Player First-Serve Speed Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 134.4 mph Reilly Opelka 130.6 mph Raphael Collignon 128.9 mph Alexander Zverev 128.8 mph Jakub Mensik 128.6 mph

What distinguishes Mpetshi Perricard from his peers is his refusal to ease off when hitting a second serve. Rather than prioritising safety, as many players would, Mpetshi Perricard doubles down on aggression. He averaged a fearless 117 mph on his second delivery in 2025, rarely giving any breathing room for his opponents. Valentin Vacherot ranked second in average second-serve speed at 112.5 mph.

"He needs to be a player who mixes in a number of second serves that he hits as hard as his first serve," O'Shannesy said. "He doesn't need to hit two first serves all the time; it needs to be strategic.

"Kyrgios has proven how potent it can be when it's unpredictable. Just because you have a big hammer doesn't mean you always have to use it. The threat of the big hammer is also very important. Keeping an opponent guessing what speed is coming, what height is coming is key."

Fastest Average Second-Serve Speed, 2025

Player Second-Serve Speed Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 117 mph Valentin Vacherot 112.5 mph Reilly Opelka 110.2 mph Gabriel Diallo 108.9 mph Ben Shelton 107.8 mph

Mpetshi Perricard’s approach is unapologetically bold, designed to keep opponents under constant stress and ensure that points unfold entirely on his terms. After hitting a career-high No. 29 in the PIF ATP Rankings in 2025, Mpetshi Perricard will look to rely on his thunderous serve in search of further success in 2026.

Click here to read article