Serena Williams’s fastest recorded serve at the 2013 Australian Open was 128.6 mph, or 207 km/h. She produced the serve during her third-round match against Japan’s Ayumi Morita.
Williams hit another serve at the same 207 km/h speed earlier in the tournament, against Spain’s Garbiñe Muguruza in the second round. The figure was remarkable even by Williams’s standards and ranked among the fastest serves recorded in women’s tennis at the time.
The speed was only part of the weapon. Williams combined pace with precise placement, a disguised motion and heavy kick and slice serves. That variety made it difficult for opponents to anticipate whether the ball would arrive wide, down the middle or into the body.
At the 2013 Australian Open, Williams reached the quarterfinals before losing to fellow American Sloane Stephens. She later had an outstanding season, winning the French Open, US Open and WTA Finals. Her 128.6 mph mark is often confused with later speed-record figures, including Venus Williams’s 129 mph serve and Sabine Lisicki’s 131 mph record.