Serve speeds are quoted in km/h at most tournaments and mph in the United States, which makes comparing players awkward. This converter turns any serve speed into all three common units — km/h, mph, and m/s — and shows where it sits against ATP and WTA benchmarks.
How it works
The conversions use exact factors derived from the definition of a mile and an hour:
mph = kmh × 0.621371
m/s = kmh ÷ 3.6
kmh = mph ÷ 0.621371 = mph × 1.609344
m/s = mph × 0.44704
Enter a speed in any unit and the tool normalises it to km/h internally, then converts out to the other two so all three always agree.
Worked examples
For example, a 200 km/h serve converts to:
- 200 × 0.621371 ≈ 124.3 mph
- 200 ÷ 3.6 ≈ 55.6 m/s
A 120 mph second serve converts to:
- 120 × 1.609344 ≈ 193.1 km/h
- 120 × 0.44704 ≈ 53.6 m/s
Putting the numbers in context
Knowing a serve speed in multiple units makes it far easier to compare across coverage. The same delivery that reads “200” on a Wimbledon scoreboard reads “124” at the US Open — same ball, same pace, different unit convention.
According to the FAQ above, ATP men’s first serves average roughly 185 km/h (115 mph) and WTA women’s first serves average roughly 160 km/h (100 mph). A serve above 210 km/h (130 mph) is elite-level pace. The men’s recorded radar maximum is around 263 km/h (163 mph).
For recreational players, typical club-level first serves sit somewhere between 130–160 km/h (80–100 mph), while beginners often serve between 80–110 km/h (50–68 mph). Knowing where your serve falls on that scale can guide whether pace or placement should be your next coaching focus.
The radar caveat
Serve radar measures the ball’s peak speed just after racquet impact, before air resistance and spin act on it. By the time the ball crosses the net, it has shed a meaningful fraction of that speed. So a 200 km/h radar reading does not mean the returner sees 200 km/h — it is the launch speed at the strings, not the arrival speed at the baseline. Reaction time calculations should account for this.