Tennis is one of those sports that everyone should learn to play as it is something one can do for virtually their entire life and is a perfect combination of mental focus with appropriate mix of physical ability. As one ages and naturally slows down, doubles when paired with similarly paired foes, is a great competitive exercise to keep that mind and body performing. When it comes to the vertically gifted, there is an immediate assumption that this is an advantage given the intent on driving the rubber balls at maximum velocity with the steepest angle. Upon closer inspection one finds that while there is a correlation with maximum height and performance on serves, however, the need for agility and speed to cover the 9yd x 13yd side of the court clearly offsets this advantage given the average of tennis players in the top 500 is currently 185.5cm (6’ 1”). However, this is changing as the top ten has gotten taller over the last decade with the current average at 190.9cm (6’3”.)
Top Ten Eleven Tallest Tennis Players
11. Sam Querry — 1.98M (6’ 6”)
American with a truly deadly serve that has taken down the elite (Djokovic in ‘16 @ Wimbledon, Murray in ‘17 @ Wimbledon) and holds the record for most consecutive aces at 10 against James Blake in ‘07.
10. Juan Martin del Portro — 1.98M (6’6”)
Witnessed this Argentinian take down Roger Federrer first hand at the U.S. open ’17 with power forehands and not surprisingly a tough first serve a feat he had done in the finals of the same tournament in ’09.
9. Marin Cilic — 1.98M (6’6”)
Similar to del Portro, this Croat has taken down premier players on the highest level of play, including Federrer at the U.S. Open in ‘16.
8. Chris Guccione. — 2.01M (6’7”)
This Aussie has predominantly been a double players, relying on serves and powerful groundstrokes to be a contender. Injuries have kept him from reaching that next level.
7. Marc Rosset —2.01M (6’7”)
Phenom from the 90’s that excelled in both singles and doubles reaching as high as 8th and 9th respectively in rankings, is the most famous Swiss tennis player not named Federrer.
6. Kevin Anderson — 2.03 (6’8”)
Tallest player to make a grand slam final, which the South African did in ‘17 at the U.S. Open and ‘18 at Wimbledon, both times being the runner-up.
5. Dick Norman — 2.03 (6’8”)
The Belgian doubles specialist retired in ‘13 at the age of 42, notably reaching the pinnacle of his ranking (No. 10) at the age of 39.
4. Jerzy Janowicz — 2.03 (6’8”)
Made history by being the first Pole to reach the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam, which he did in ‘13 @ Wimbledon. Even with his 2.03M frame, he was known for his exceptionally high tosses during service, which contributed to his being one of the fastest ever.
3. John Isner — 2.08M (6’10”)
This American holds the records for fastest recorded serve at 255km/hr (157.2 mph) and is second on all-time aces list with 12,467.
He is also known for participating and winning the longest match ever against Nicolas Mahut at Wimbledon (11 hours 5 minutes) – this includes most aces in a match (113) and most in a set (85.)placeholder image
2. Reily Opelka. — 2.11M (6’11”)
New to the stage, this young American has started off strong with two single titles at New York Open in ‘19 and Del Ray Beach in ‘20. Consistently serving in the 140 mph range, look for Reily to continue to threaten.
1. Ivo Karlovic — 2.11M (6’11”)
This Croat has a wicked serve and holds the record for most aces at 13,633. He previously held the fastest serve record at 251km/ hr (156 mph) before Isner broke this ‘16.