Sabine Lisicki broke the record for the fastest serve in the history of women's tennis Tuesday when she fired a 131-mph shot over the net.
ESPN reported that the serve came amid the 24-year-old German's match against Ana Ivanovic at the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, California. Lisicki and Ivanovic were 5-5, 40-30, when the serve was delivered, with Ivanovic hitting the ball back just a little too wide.
The previous record of 129 mph was held by Venus Williams, who claimed it at the 2007 U.S. Open.
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"I think it's time it was broken. It's a good thing," Williams
told espnW.
"Obviously, I need to try to serve harder, but clearly she serves really hard. That's good encouragement. But I'm not out there really trying to serve hard. I used to, but now, when I really want the point, I try a medium serve somewhere above 110. I try more for placement these days. It takes a lot of energy to serve. So if you can take 10 miles off and place it, it's smarter."
Williams was also at the Bank of the West Classic, and won her first round match. The tournament is a special one for her, as it was where she made her professional debut two decades ago — back when it was played in Oakland.
"It's great to still be feeling well enough to be playing on this tour, which is much more competitive than it was 20 years ago," Williams said.
"To be looking pretty solid, too, that's great. It's been a long journey. I don't know if at that age I would have envisioned I would still be playing now, but I'm glad I am. Because you get one shot at it, and then you fade to grace when someone else is better. So while I'm here, I'm going to go for it."
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