Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard broke through on the ATP Tour in 2024, with many predicting big things for the youngster in the near future.
Few players made bigger statements than Mpetshi Perricard in 2024, as he made his way into the world’s top 40.
The Frenchman took the world by storm with his serving ability, as Mpetshi Perricard won the Basel Open last year.
Former world number one Andy Roddick said that Mpetshi Perricard could change tennis with his serve, as he began hitting second serves faster than most players first serves.
The ATP Tour had been put on notice, and just one tournament into the 2025 season, the 21-year-old is already proving that he could well be a real threat at this month’s Australian Open.
Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard thinks his second serve could get 20kph faster in the next three years
Following his win over Frances Tiafoe at the Brisbane International, Mpetshi Perricard was asked to recall the moment he realized he could hit his second serve as hard as he does now.
“I would say it’s brand-new,” he said.
“I did a lot of work on that during 2023 with my actual coach.
“It was one of the goals for me to be better on the second serve because I was hitting the ball 170 [kph], but I wasn’t missing at all.
“He said, Can you push it a bit more, 10 kilometres, 15, 20, push to see your limit?”
Mpetshi Perricard showed off his serving prowess against fellow big server Nick Kyrgios in his first-round match at the Brisbane International.
Mpetshi Perricard won 7-6, 6-7, 7-6, but in a worrying revelation for the rest of the ATP Tour, the Frenchman has now said that he thinks there is even more to come from his serve.
“Now I think sometimes my limit is 200, sometimes it’s 190,” he said.
“It’s how am I feeling on the court.
“But yeah, I don’t know, in two, three years I can be [serving] 220 or this can be my maximum.
“I don’t know, we will see.
“Yeah, I think it’s still a shot to improve.”
How good has Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard’s serve been in 2025 so far?
Mpetshi Perricard was ranked second for serve rating behind Alexander Zverev in 2024 and has continued that form into the new year.
His wins over Kyrgios and Tiafoe in Brisbane helped remind fans of just how impressive his serving can be, as his numbers are already looking a class above.
| Rank | Name | Serve Rating | % 1st Serve | % 1st Serve Points Won | % 2nd Serve Points Won | % Service Games Won | Average Aces per Match | Average Double Faults per Match |
| 1 | Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (2025) | 313.5 | 66.5 | 84.5 | 53.5 | 100 | 28.0 | 5.5 |
| 2 | Alexander Zverev | 300.3 | 71.2 | 76.8 | 54.8 | 90.2 | 9.5 | 2.2 |
| 3 | Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (2024) | 299.5 | 64.7 | 79.7 | 52.8 | 88.8 | 19.0 | 5.5 |
| 4 | Matteo Berrettini | 296.2 | 68.2 | 77.6 | 52.7 | 89.8 | 9.4 | 1.5 |
| 5 | Hubert Hurkacz | 295.8 | 63.2 | 77.7 | 54.5 | 88.7 | 13.4 | 1.7 |
| 6 | Jannik Sinner | 295.6 | 61.4 | 79.4 | 57.9 | 91.4 | 7.4 | 1.9 |
| 7 | Ben Shelton | 294.0 | 68.7 | 76.0 | 54.1 | 89.1 | 9.5 | 3.4 |
| 8 | Taylor Fritz | 293.0 | 62.3 | 78.4 | 55.2 | 88.3 | 10.5 | 1.7 |
| 9 | Brandon Nakashima | 291.3 | 66.0 | 74.4 | 55.7 | 87.7 | 8.6 | 1.1 |
| 10 | Grigor Dimitrov | 285.0 | 61.1 | 79.9 | 52.2 | 87.2 | 8.3 | 3.7 |
While the sample size is of course minimal, the Frenchman has started the year brilliantly, serving better than anyone did in 2024.
Mpetshi Perricard has improved or matched every single statistic from the year before, hitting an unbelievable nine extra aces per match.
It is of course unlikely that the 21-year-old will continue this form throughout the year, but if he were to do so, his Serve Rating of 313.5 would be the highest since John Isner scored 314.0 in 2022.
It remains to be seen if his serving will continue to wow fans as it has so far in 2025, but he’ll certainly be hoping it carries him to victory when he plays Jakub Mensik in the Brisbane International quarter-finals on January 3.
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