193 km/h! Fonseca hits the second-fastest forehand in history. Who holds the record for the fastest?

In yesterday's morning match at the Indian Wells men's singles fourth round, Brazilian rising star Fonseca unleashed a forehand shot traveling at 120 mph (approximately 193 km/h). His opponent, Sinner, hastily dodged to avoid being hit. After the point ended, Sinner gave Fonseca a thumbs-up, showing his appreciation.

During this match, Fonseca's exceptionally fast forehand was not a fluke. He displayed high-quality aggressive play throughout, battling Sinner through two tie-breaks and ultimately losing by a narrow margin.

Prior to this, during the 2025 Australian Open first round against Rublev, Fonseca had already hit a forehand at 181 km/h, surpassing Alcaraz's 178 km/h and setting the record for the fastest shot at last year's Australian Open.

Fonseca's 120 mph (approximately 193 km/h) shot against Sinner yesterday is reportedly the second-fastest forehand recorded in professional tennis since official speed tracking began.

Below is the top five forehand speed records as compiled by TennisTV.

Ranked fifth: Monfils hit a forehand at 186 km/h during his 2010 Paris Masters match against Federer.

Ranked fourth: Isner hit a forehand at 188 km/h during his 2018 Miami Masters match against Del Potro.

Ranked third: Kyrgios hit a forehand at 191 km/h during a 2011 Acapulco match. Additionally, according to online reports, Kyrgios also hit a forehand at 191 km/h during his 2019 Madrid Masters match against Wawrinka.

Ranked second: Fonseca hit a forehand at 193 km/h during his 2026 Indian Wells match against Sinner.

Ranked first: Murray hit a forehand at 199 km/h during his 2011 Cincinnati match against Fish.

Joint first: Monfils hit a forehand at 199 km/h during his 2022 Indian Wells match against Alcaraz.

Beyond these single maximum speeds, ATP released a three-year average forehand speed statistic in 2024. Dimitrov led the list with an average speed exceeding 79 mph (approximately 127 km/h), becoming the representative of "consistent powerful forehand." His average forehand speed on clay and hard courts reached 80 mph (approximately 129 km/h). During the 2024 Brisbane tournament against Rune, Dimitrov's average forehand speed even reached 81 mph (approximately 130 km/h).

Additionally, Fritz and Rublev's average forehand speed on indoor hard courts is 79 mph (approximately 127 km/h), also typical examples of powerful forehands.

As mentioned above, forehand speed can be categorized into "single maximum speed" and "average speed." The former reflects on-court explosive power, while the latter better indicates a player's technical consistency. Fonseca not only set a new single maximum speed record but also maintained a very high average forehand speed throughout his match against Sinner (average winning shot speed around 160 km/h).

In women's tennis, records show that the fastest forehand at the 2021 Australian Open was Voronkova's 76.6 mph (approximately 123 km/h), indicating a noticeable speed gap compared to the powerful forehands in men's tennis.

However, speed is not the sole core element of a forehand. Players like Alcaraz and Ruud, whose maximum speeds do not rank in the top ten, possess top-tier forehands due to extremely high spin rates. Fonseca represents the new generation combining both "speed and spin."

Some commentators note that Sinner is ATP's promoted superstar of the current era, while Fonseca is ATP's promoted future star. It is hoped that this future star, Fonseca, will quickly develop into a current superstar, challenging or even breaking the current "Sinner-Alcaraz" duo dominance.(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Yun Juan Yun Shu)