2022 ATP ace chart: John Isner edges Felix Auger-Aliassime and moves past Ivo Karlovic for all-time record

Shahida Jacobs 19 Dec 2022 1:18 PM

John Isner serves

It was not a record-breaking season for John Isner in terms of the amount of aces served during a single season, but he did notch up the all-time record for most aces served during a career.

After missing out on top spot for the past two years – finishing fourth in 2021 and second in 2020 – Isner returned to the top as sent down 895 aces in 40 matches during the 2022 season.

That tally helped him to move to a career total of 13,990 aces served in 749 matches and it is now good enough for top spot in the ATP’s career aces list as he is clear of Croatia’s Ivo Karlovic (13,728 aces in 694 matches). He moved past Karlovic at Wimbledon this year.

In case you were wondering, Roger Federer is third with 11,478 aces in 1,462 matches while Goran Ivanisevic (10,237 aces in 731 matches) and Feliciano Lopez (10,188 aces in 969 matches) complete the top five.

Isner and Lopez are the only two players form that list still active, but the latter doesn’t feature in the top 100 for 2022.

2022 ATP ace chart

10. Marin Cilic – 588 aces

The 2014 US Open champion sent down 588 aces in 51 matches in 2022 to take his all-time tally to 7,966 in 855 matches.

If he has a decent ace-serving season next year then he should move into the top 10 all-time list as he is not too far behind Milos Raonic (8,136) and Ivan Ljubicic (8,138), who are 10th and ninth respectively.

9. Daniil Medvedev – 590 aces

The former world No 1 produced 590 aces in 2022 from 64 matches, but he also made 253 double faults. He now sits on 3,123 aces in 373 matches – a long way off the biggest servers in the game.

8. Stefanos Tsitsipas – 628 aces

The Greek, who won two titles in 2022, sent down 628 aces in 83 matches for a career tally of 2,576. Tsitsipas’ service game has definitely improved as the 628 is his best figure over a 12-month period to date – beating the 560 aces he served in 2019.

7. Taylor Fritz – 642 aces

The American had a season to remember as he won the biggest title of his career – the Indian Wells Open – and also lifted trophies at the Eastbourne International and Japan Open.

He climbed to a career-high No 8 in the ATP Rankings in October also reached the semi-final of the ATP Finals.

Fritz’s 642 aces came in 62 matches and he now sits on 2,964 aces over his career.

6. Alexander Bublik – 715 aces

The Kazakh player topped the aces chart in 2021 and this season he came up well short of last year’s total. Bublik, who won the Open Sud de France in February and finished runner-up at two other events, served 715 aces in 55 matches.

5. Nick Kyrgios – 747 aces

The 2022 season was certainly Kyrgios’ best on the ATP Tour to date as he finished runner-up to Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon and won the Citi Open in August – his first title since 2019.

Kyrgios’ 747 aces came from 47 matches and he now has a total of 4,514 career aces in 298 matches, which is good enough for 38th place on the all-time list.

4. Maxime Cressey – 768 aces

One of three Americans in the top 10, Cressey enjoyed his breakthrough season as he won his maiden ATP Tour singles title at the Hall of Fame Open while he also finished runner-up at the Melbourne Summer Set and Eastbourne International.

The 25-year-old’s 768 aces (coming in 53 matches) represent 76% of his career total of 1,012. If he continues to serve about 750 aces per season for the next seven years then he could push the top 20 in the all-time list.

3. Hubert Hurkacz – 827 aces

The Pole didn’t quite live up to his 2022 standards although he won the Halle Open and finished runner-up at the Canadian Open. Hurkacz also finished the season in the top 10.

His 827 aces in 62 matches this year also represent his best ace season to date and his overall tally sits at 2,090.

2. Felix Auger-Aliassime – 890

One of the standout players of the 2022 campaign, Auger-Aliassime finished at a career-high No 6 in the ATP Rankings on the back of winning four titles.

His 890 aces came in 81 matches and the 22-year-old now has 2,388 career aces, although he has also sent down 1,028 double faults.

1. John Isner – 895 aces

The 895 aces were good enough for top spot in 2022 and it also helped him to overtake Karlovic in the all-time list, but it is not close to Isner’s best-ever season.

Back in 2015 the American served 1,260 aces while in 2018 he sent down 1,213 aces and in 2016 he served 1,159 aces. Incredibly, he doesn’t hold the record for most aces in a single season as that honour belongs to Goran Ivanisevic who served 1,477 aces in 1996 while Karlovic sent down 1,447 aces in 2015.

Isner, though, played only 40 matches this season and would no doubt have hit the 1,000 mark had played another 20 or so matches.