London, UK
CNN
 — 

If you’ve ever picked up a tennis racket and attempted to serve against an opponent, you’ll know just how hard a skill it is. It’s one thing to get the ball over the net and yet a whole other thing to even start thinking about speed and accuracy.

It’s a technique that quickly separates the professionals from the amateurs and a skill which has become increasingly important in the modern game.

Nowadays, both men and women are serving faster than ever before, with players regularly reaching service speeds that were once thought to be nearly impossible.

At this year’s Wimbledon, for example, fans witnessed the fastest serve in the tournament’s 148-year history, when Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard unleashed a 153 mph rocket in his first-round match against Taylor Fritz.

Perricard is part of a new breed of players who weaponize their powerful asset to significant effect. The 21-year-old is the current world No. 36 but clearly has the power to one day challenge the very best.

“I’m not doing some special technique to have a big serve or a fast serve. I’m just serving like I’m supposed to do. We don’t train a lot to be honest, this part of my game. But I mean, it came naturally,” he said.

But while Perricard is nonchalant about his superior delivery, there is a science behind what makes his technique so successful.

Former tennis player and sports scientist Mark Kovacs has dedicated years to researching the biomechanics behind a tennis serve.

Speaking to CNN Sports, he breaks down the technique into eight components: The opening stance, the ball toss, the loading, the coiling, the acceleration, the contact, the deceleration and finally, the finish, which is where the player lands.

“You need synchronized motion. You need all of these stages to hit optimally because you get this summation of forces. It’s really called the kinetic chain. You’re trying to optimize your kinetic chain, which means how we use the ground up through the body and out into the ball,” Kovacs said.

Kovacs’ work is all about using research and data to give players that small edge to improve their performance.

He has worked with some of the sport’s biggest servers, including former US player John Isner, who set the ATP-recognized record for the fastest serve in 2016, when he blasted a ball 157.2 mph at his opponent.

While all eight components of the motion are important to maxing out your serving potential, Kovacs says research does point to particular elements which are required to produce a fast serve.

First, there is stage three (the loading), which looks at the player’s body position before making contact. Kovacs says the key here is the player’s back hip, and how quickly it comes through the motion of serving.

Then there is stage five into seven (acceleration, contact and deceleration), which addresses how fast the serving arm moves through the action.

“You hear people talk about a player having a live arm. In the scientific sense, you can actually put a number on that,” he says.

“A lot of coaches will say, ‘That guy’s just got a live arm. That’s why he’s able to serve hard but maybe doesn’t have the best technique.’

“But actually he does have pretty good technique at that position. He may not have great technique everywhere else, but his ability to get his arm in the right position and move through is the second most important correlation for serve speed.”

Albano Olivetti is another current player who uses his huge serve to his advantage. The 33-year-old now focuses mainly on doubles and made it to the second round at this year’s Wimbledon.

While he never made a huge impact in the singles game during his professional career, one particular moment remains etched into the sport’s folklore.

At a Challenger Tour event in 2012, Olivetti unleashed the second fastest serve of all-time, sending a 160 mph rocket at his opponent.

The mark is not officially recognized by the ATP – men’s tennis’ governing body – because it wasn’t performed at an official ATP event, but it remains something Olivetti is proud of – only former Australian player Sam Groth has served quicker, hitting one at 163.7 mph also in 2012.

At this year’s Wimbledon, Olivetti’s fastest serve was 140 mph, which remains among the highest in the men’s game.

When asked what makes his technique so powerful, the 6-foot-8 Frenchman initially points to his height as a major factor.

Kovacs agrees that there is a distinct correlation between height and a big serve, noting that the best players across the men’s and women’s games are now getting taller on average – a trend also seen across several other professional sports, such as basketball.

“So, force equals mass times acceleration,” Kovacs tells CNN Sports, explaining why height can make a difference.

“The force is what we’re talking about when we’re talking about serve speed. Mass is the person’s body weight, so being taller typically means you have more body weight.

“And then acceleration is your levers. If your arms and legs are longer, you actually get greater acceleration because you’ve got it over a slightly longer period of time.

“It’s also important to note that being over about 6-foot-6 allows you to hit down on the serve at contact. When you’re shorter than that, even though most people don’t realize it, you’re actually hitting up slightly on the ball when you’re serving, they’re actually not hitting down and that slight difference makes a big, big difference to speed.”

But both Kovacs and Olivetti say that height isn’t as big a benefit as some may think – it only gives you a higher ceiling to reach.

As someone who has always been taller than most of his opponents, Olivetti says technique always outweighs pure physical attributes and that’s why he has worked on his serving skills from an early age.

He also says that using the right equipment is important when it comes to finding a big serve, but explains that the search for a fast one sometimes comes at a cost.

For example, the racket he previously used, with his preferred string tension, helped create power on his serve but made returning from the baseline more difficult.

It’s sometimes tricky, he says, to find the balance.

“I was winning on my serve and not winning for the return part,” he tells CNN Sports.

“So then you have to find the right balance again for your game – maybe you prefer to lose speed on your serve and then be comfortable from the baseline, for example.

“I think every player is different, and you really have to find what works for you. Equipment is important for that, I would say.”

Moving forward, Olivetti says that serve speed will continue to increase as players look for new ways to refine this vital aspect of the game.

Kovacs agrees and says the current crop of players are nowhere near reaching the limit of how fast a human being can serve a tennis ball.

He says he can still see untapped potential in several top players – including world No. 1 Jannik Sinner – when it comes to their serving technique, with some leaving as much as 10 mph on the table.

While the biomechanics of a serve can offer players some control over improving their technique, Kovacs says that a number of external circumstances can influence the speed on any given day.

“There obviously is a limit, but that is under the assumption that everything stays the same from a standpoint of technology, balls, strings, rackets, and also temperature and environment plays a role,” he says.

“The reason you’ve seen these faster serves at Wimbledon this year is because the temperature was much hotter and drier the first few days, so the ball comes through the air a little bit faster. So you were getting three, four, five miles an hour more than you would typically see just because of weather conditions.”

With the serve becoming increasingly influential in the current game, the records being broken today will likely be surpassed again in the next decade.

And, perhaps more importantly, it’s still a source of pride and competition for all the big-hitters on tour.

“Yes,” Olivetti says smiling, when asked whether professional players even care about breaking new speed records.

“Always, since I started playing, I was always trying to serve as big as I can.”

London
CNN
 — 

If ever there was a time for Novak Djokovic to shake off his troubles and share a dance with his son and daughter, it was after being tested to his limit against Alex de Minaur in the fourth round of Wimbledon on Monday.

The Serb battled through a four-set fight against the Australian 11th seed on Centre Court, eventually finding a way to secure a 1-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 win after more than three hours of play.

But despite looking both physically and mentally exhausted after match point, Djokovic still had the energy to perform a new celebratory dance with his children who were watching on from the stands. Son Stefan was seen joining him in the movement after outlasting de Minaur.

The dance – reportedly inspired by a 2004 song by Danzel – has found new popularity during this year’s Wimbledon, with the 24-time grand slam champion performing it with his children after winning his matches.

The moves involve Djokovic pumping his fists down, then to the left, then the right, and finally up to the sky.

His daughter Tara stole the show after her dad’s third-round win on Saturday, pushing herself to the front of the stands to perform the “pump it up” dance moves while Djokovic was being interviewed.

“It’s called ‘pumpa’ in our language and ‘pump it up’ in English. There’s a song with my kids,” Djokovic explained on Saturday.

“And look, my daughter is doing it right now,” Djokovic continued, as the camera turned to Tara. “You want to show it, darling? You want to show how it goes?”

Tara gave a shrug with a smile and proceeded to demonstrate, drawing delight from the crowd.

“She’s the master,” Djokovic said. “It’s a little tradition we have right now so hopefully we can keep going so we can keep pumping more in Wimbledon.”

Danzel, the artist behind the song, posted a video of Djokovic explaining the dance on Instagram, saying it was an “honor” to have inspired the new celebration.

There were plenty of times during Monday’s match when it looked as though Djokovic would be unable to perform his new dance craze.

Djokovic looked way off his best in the opening exchanges and struggled initially to get to grips with the gusty conditions on court.

The first set was particularly puzzling, with de Minaur breaking Djokovic’s serve three times to take a one-set lead in the match.

The start of the second was equally erratic, with both players breaking each other’s serve in quick succession – the set also involved an energy-depleting game that lasted 24 minutes alone.

The 38-year-old Djokovic started to grow frustrated by the close of the second set after the net seemed to help de Minaur on several occasions, but all that angst and tension flew out of Djokovic in an almighty roar to his team after he wrapped up the second set.

It then looked as though the seven-time Wimbledon champion had found his form, winning the third set and taking a huge step toward the next round. But de Minaur came racing back at the start of the fourth to break Djokovic’s serve early on.

With many expecting the match to go into a deciding set, Djokovic upped his level and broke back twice to fight his way into the quarterfinals.

“(De Minaur) is so good,” Djokovic said during his post-match interview on court. “He’s one of the quickest, if not the quickest player we have on the tour and on the grass, where the ball bounces very low. It’s extremely difficult to play someone like him if you’re not feeling the ball.

“I was just very pleased to hang tough in the right moments and win this one.”

Djokovic also had the added pressure of playing in front of tennis legend Roger Federer, who was the special guest in the Royal Box.

The 43-year-old smiled as Djokovic gave him a special shoutout during his interview – the Serb is bidding to equal Federer’s men’s record of eight Wimbledon titles in this year’s tournament.

“I think this is probably the first time he’s watched me and I’ve won the match,” Djokovic joked.

“The last couple I’ve lost but it’s great to have Roger here. A huge champion and someone I admire and respect a lot.”

Djokovic will now look to recover from Monday’s grueling encounter before facing Flavio Cobolli in the next round.

CNN
 — 

Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton will miss the entire 2025-26 NBA season to rehabilitate his torn Achilles tendon, the team confirmed on Monday.

Haliburton suffered the injury in the first quarter of Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals, a game Indiana would go on to lose to the Oklahoma City Thunder and miss out on winning the franchise’s first ever NBA title.

Haliburton posted on social media the day after that he had undergone successful surgery on the torn Achilles tendon in his right leg, vowing that he “will do everything in my power to get back right.”

On Monday, Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard ruled out any participation by Haliburton in the upcoming season, adding that he has full confidence that the two-time All-Star would return even stronger.

“I have no doubt that he will be back better than ever. The surgery went well,” Pritchard told the media. “It was a little higher and he gets more blood to that (as he recovers). He will not play next year though. We would not jeopardize that now, so don’t get any hopes up that he will play.”

Haliburton had arguably been the star of the NBA playoffs up until that point, providing magical moments as the Pacers made their way to the Finals.

He produced one of the signature moments of the playoffs in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals as he led the Pacers on a massive comeback in the final minutes against the New York Knicks, eventually hitting a tying shot as the buzzer sounded to send the game to overtime – and mimicked Reggie Miller’s famous “choke” celebration on the Madison Square Garden floor. Indiana eventually won that game in overtime.

In the Finals, he recreated those heroics by helping to engineer a comeback win over the Thunder on the road in Game 1. He hit a mid-range jumper with 0.3 seconds to go in the game to give Indiana its only lead, stealing the series opener on the road.

After being named the most overrated player in the league by his peers earlier in the season, Haliburton seemed to be on a mission to prove all the doubters wrong in the playoffs. He also hit game-winning shots to beat the Milwaukee Bucks and Cleveland Cavaliers in the earlier rounds.

However, the 25-year-old suffered a strained right calf midway through the Finals which clearly hampered his success on the court. He continued to play through the injury until his eventual Achilles tear forced him off the court early in Game 7.

Haliburton himself expressed no regrets about playing through the injury, but Pritchard had a different opinion.

“If you’re asking me, would I have him do it over and over? I would not. I would not,” Pritchard said. “If I knew that he was going to get hurt, I would sacrifice that game because I care for the kid so much and want him to have an incredible career.”

In 73 regular season games last campaign, Haliburton averaged 18.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 9.2 assists per game.

With Haliburton absent, next season looks to be a transition year for the Pacers.

The team has already lost one of its stalwarts in Myles Turner who, having spent the first 10 years of his NBA career in Indiana, signed with the Milwaukee Bucks in the first few days of free agency.

The 29-year-old center departs the Pacers as the franchise’s all-time leader in blocks and leaves a sizable gap in the team’s rotation.

Pritchard told reporters that it was a surprise to lose Turner in free agency, calling him “one of the best players that’s ever played here.”

“I know this, that (owner) Herb Simon and (part-owner) Steven Rales and the Simon family were fully prepared to go deep into the tax to keep him,” Pritchard said. “We really wanted to do that, and we were negotiating in good faith.

“But what happens in this league is sometimes you’re negotiating, but because a guy is unrestricted, he has the right to say: ‘That’s the offer I want. I’m going to take it and that’s best for my family.’”