Top 10 Hardest Hitting Tennis Players to Watch in 2026
Modern day tennis is more about power from the baseline than finesse and deft touches at the net like the old days. With the evolution of sporting equipment and hard courts tournaments gaining more popularity, players can now hit forehand and backhands at top speeds. As a result, we now see most players on the tennis circuit favouring powerful baseline play over volleys and drop shots. Even though the more complete players skillfully mix up their baseline and net play, tennis has slowly become a sport prioritizing power and agility over other skills.
P.S. The below mentioned stats have been taken from Official ATP Tour website, Tennis.com, official Australian Open and US Open websites.
Here we present the Top 10 Hardest hitting players to watch in 2026 –
10. Joao Fonseca
Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca has been touted as the next tennis superstar. The 19-year-old is not only a player with massive potential but one who can unleash powerful shots from his racquet. Fonseca has a decent first serve with average first serve speed of 122 miles per hour(mph) which is quite high for his age. His average forehand speed of 81 mph is greater than the tour average of 76 mph. What makes his forehand more lethal is the top spin rate of 3019 rotations per minute (rpm) which is also above the tour average of 2844 rpm.
At just 19-years-old and his physicality certainly going to improve with age, Fonseca could very well have the most lethal shot-making in the game.
9. Amanda Anisimova
Amanda Anisimova is finally starting to fulfill her potential as one of the most talented women’s players. 2025 was a particularly successful year for her with two Grand Slam finals appearances.
Anisimova has always been a hard-hitting player but with experience she has improved further. At the 2025 US Open, her average backhand speed was 77 mph which was the highest for any Men’s or Women’s player at the tournament. Anisimova is also a highly aggressive player who likes to rely on short rallies and winners rather than playing a defensive style.
Anisimova is surely one of the hardest-hitting women’s players on tour and that is also one of the reasons she has been highly effective against the World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka as she doesn’t get overwhelmed by Sabalenka’s pace and power.
8. Ben Shelton
Ben Shelton hasn’t risen up the ATP Men’s rankings without a reason. The American is yet another hard-hitting player that has been a consistent top performer on the ATP tour, especially performing significantly well at the Grand Slams. Not only does Shelton have one of the fastest serves on the tour (150- 240 mph), he can rip a fierce forehand as well. His average forehand speed lies somewhere between 80-90 mph which is way above the tour average of 76-77 mph.
Shelton is a predominantly an aggressive baseliner and what is special about him being able to generate so much pace off his racquet is that it doesn’t seem forced, it’s quite effortless. Even though there are several players on the tour physically stronger and taller than Shelton, his technique of serving and hitting the shots is what helps him generate insane pace.
7. Elena Rybakina
Elena Rybakina hasn’t quite fulfilled her potential of becoming a tennis great after winning the 2022 Wimbledon title but avid tennis fans are aware of her talent and ability.
The lanky Kazakhstani player is one of the hardest-hitting players on the WTA Tour and she does it effortlessly without even breaking a sweat. The tennis balls fly from her racquet whether it’s the forehand or the double-handed backhand. Its not just her shots though, Rybakina also has the best serve on the Women’s tour.
Rybakina’s serve speed ranges from 106 -120 mph and can consistently serve up aces. Her average forehand speed is 76 mph which is almost 6-7 mph faster than the tour average. Rybakina also relies a lot on her double-handed backhand for hitting cross-court winners, with her striking a few 90 mph backhands in some instances though her average speed is much lower.
6. Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard
The young Frenchman announced himself in world tennis after reaching the Wimbledon RO16 in 2024. The hard-hitting 22-year-old is currently the fastest serving Men’s player on the tour. He served up a record 153 mph first serve in his first-round match at Wimbledon in 2025. The 6 foot 8 inches tall Frenchman has mind boggling figures when it comes to his average serve speeds. Perricard’s first serve average speed is 135 mph while his second serve average speed is 123 mph which is way higher than the tour average of 118 mph on first serves and 96 mph on second serves.
Coming to his forehand and backhand, though there isn’t information available online regarding the average speed, he likes to hit his shots flat with power rather than with topspin and likes to dominate from the baseline, trying to finish the points in 2-3 shots rather than engaging in long rallies.
Though Perricard holds a massive height advantage on the tour, he isn’t the complete product and could add more variations to his game to improve, a big serve isn’t the only prerequisite for success.
5. Alexander Zverev
The current world No. 3 Alexander Zverev is another player known for his powerful groundstrokes both off the forehand and backhand. Zverev has been widely regarded as one of the best players on the Men’s tour and it’s a surprise to many how he hasn’t won a Grand Slam yet. However, there isn’t a doubt that he is a fantastic player who is another exponent of hard-hitting power tennis.
Like all top ranked players, the 6 feet 5 inches tall German has a powerful and effective serve coupled with a superb range of shots. His average first serve speed is 129 mph which is higher than the tour average. On the forehand, he has delivered an average speed of an estimated 80 mph in certain matches (average forehand speed data isn’t available). Zverev considers his backhand as the money shot as he relies a lot on his backhand for hitting cross-court and down the line winners. His average backhand speed is around 73 mph which is really fast and lies in the Top 5 of the fastest backhands on tour. Zverev’s backhand is known for power and pressure.
Still one of the most consistent players on tour, Zverev’s hitting is almost on par with the likes of Sinner and Alcaraz.
4. Carlos Alcaraz
The current World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz is one of the most complete players in World tennis right now with an insane range of shots in his armour. However, Alcaraz can generate a lot of power from the baseline and has one of the fastest forehands in the game right now.
Due to his agility, deft touch and skill at the net, a lot of the people underestimate the powerful side of his game. He is a top baseliner with a great serve and forehand with topspin. His average first serve is slightly higher than the tour average (116-118 mph) at 120-122 mph. Though his fastest serve can easily exceed 134 mph. His average forehand speed is 78 mph but he has recorded a fastest forehand speed of 115 mph as well, which is the fastest recorded forehand till date.
Though Alcaraz is capable of hitting fast forehands and backhands, he likes to mix up his play and add unpredictability to his game – a quality that has made him the best and the most complete player in recent years.
3. Aryna Sabalenka
The current World No. 1 in women’s tennis, Aryna Sabalenka has been known for her hard-hitting power tennis since the time she turned pro. Sabalenka has come a long way from a player with immense potential to becoming the best player on the ATP Tour in the past few years.
The four-times Grand Slam champion possesses the fastest forehand on the women’s tour. Not only that, she hits her shots even harder than some of her male counterparts. Sabalenka is a predominantly aggressive baseline player who likes to dominate rallies and hit powerful winners from the back of the court. She is also a top server in the women’s game. Her average first serve speed is slightly higher than the WTA tour average at 108 mph but her fastest serve was recorded at a whopping 133 mph. She can normally hit a first serve around the 118-120 mph mark.
Coming to her forehand, Sabalenka prefers to hit flat forehands without much topspin and therefore she had an average forehand speed of 80 mph (2024 US Open) which was recorded higher than forehands of Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and even Novak Djokovic at the time.
2. Jannik Sinner
The Current World No. 2, Jannik Sinner is the most hard-hitting player in the world right now. The five-time Grand Slam champion is a hard baseliner who can produce similar types of speeds from both the forehand and backhand. Sinner likes to dominate rallies with his heavy groundstrokes and repeatedly hits powerful shots that many players fail to handle. Sinner is one of the most difficult players to play on hard courts.
Sinner’s first serve averages 122 mph which is an improvement over 119 mph that was recorded in 2024. His highest recorded serve speed is 132 mph. Sinner’s average forehand speed is 78 mph which is higher as compared to the tour average. His average backhand speed is 73 mph which is higher than the tour average of 66 mph. Few of his individual backhand shots have been recorded at 90 mph.
Sinner’s quality and consistency of shot making though is incredible. In a list shared by the ATP Tour website, Sinner’s shot quality on serves, backhand and forehand is the best in the world.
1. Grigor Dimitrov
Grigor Dimitrov is probably one of the most experienced players left on the ATP tour now. Though fitness issues have troubled the talented Bulgarian, he continues to be the same hard-hitting player that he used to be in the early part of his career. Dimitrov is a dominant baseline player and likes to dominate rallies with pace and power.
Dimitrov has a top first serve with average first serve speed of 115 mph but he can record serves over 130 mph and his fastest recorded serve is 145 mph. Additionally, Dimitrov has the heaviest backhand on the tour even though he hits it single-handed.
Dimitrov’s average backhand speed is around 69 mph but his topspin backhand is far heavier and his highest recorded backhand was clocked at a 95.9 mph which is very high even for a double-handed backhand but for a single-handed one, that is quite incredible. While his backhand is his preferred weapon, Dimitrov’s forehand is lethal as well, his average forehand speed is around 80-82 mph which is higher than the tour average.
Based on his forehand and backhand average speeds and also the eye-test on his style of aggressive play, even at 34-years-old, Dimitrov ranks supreme as the hardest hitting player on the tour.
