Hardest hitting female player ever

[NadalAgassi]

Who do you consider the hardest hitting female player ever, taking into account the era each played in. Obviously there are only 6 valid options- Graf, Davenport, Venus, Serena, Seles, and Pierce, the 6 hardest female hitters ever according to expert coach Nick Bolliteiri.

[zagor]

I'd go with Pierce actually, Seles groundies were more akin to me like Agassi's, maybe even the best FH-BH ever combo but power wise I don't think she was the best (she hit consistently hard but I don't her peaks were as devastating power-wise), Davenport was the cleanest ballstriker I've ever seen (I feel like even the sound was different when she hit the ball), Venus and Serena are powerful hitters but I think people underrate the role their athleticism and feel for the ball played in their success.

Graf's FH is the best ever IMO but while she did come over her BH when playing net rushers I still wouldn't call her a big hitter off that side.

Of the current pros (aside from Serena and Venus) I'd say Kvitova is a very big hitter.

[NadalAgassi]

It is funny how the Graf-Seles era was full of moonballers like Sabatini, Martinez, and Sanchez Vicario, or finesse serve and volleyers like Novotna, Tauziat, and an old Navratilova who had lost her previous firepower, and now the game is so full of almost nothing but power.

[zagor]

Pretty much, even Henin was basically a big hitter in a small package, I wonder if Sabatini would have turned out be a moonballer regardless if she was coached by someone else than Gimenez (ie how much he influenced her to go in that direction).

[CEvertFan]

I'll go with Davenport - with her wonderful ball striking ability and excellent stroke production she generated a whole lot of power. I think Venus is right up there with her though - just watch their superb 2005 Wimbledon final.

[pc1]

Originally Posted by zagor

I'd go with Pierce actually, Seles groundies were more akin to me like Agassi's, maybe even the best FH-BH ever combo but power wise I don't think she was the best (she hit consistently hard but I don't her peaks were as devastating power-wise), Davenport was the cleanest ballstriker I've ever seen (I feel like even the sound was different when she hit the ball), Venus and Serena are powerful hitters but I think people underrate the role their athleticism and feel for the ball played in their success.

Graf's FH is the best ever IMO but while she did come over her BH when playing net rushers I still wouldn't call her a big hitter off that side.

Of the current pros (aside from Serena and Venus) I'd say Kvitova is a very big hitter.

Wow, this is almost exactly the type of thing I would have wrote except you put it better than me.

Needless to say, I agree with you.

[galain]

I can't remember who it was who said it - one of the WTA players at any rate - that Pierce was a bigger hitter than either of the Williams sisters.

Of course, both sisters would have been quite young at that stage.

[pc1]

Originally Posted by galain

I can't remember who it was who said it - one of the WTA players at any rate - that Pierce was a bigger hitter than either of the Williams sisters.

Of course, both sisters would have been quite young at that stage.

I think both Williams were a lot faster than Pierce so I don't think they often had to hit the ball so hard to stay in the point. Pierce had to control the point with her great power and she was terrific when she was on.

[BTURNER]

Francoise Durr.

[LeeD]

Flat shots, pure mph, Pierce and Davenport.
Heavy, hard to handle shots, Serena by a mile.

[NadalAgassi]

Originally Posted by zagor

Pretty much, even Henin was basically a big hitter in a small package, I wonder if Sabatini would have turned out be a moonballer regardless if she was coached by someone else than Gimenez (ie how much he influenced her to go in that direction).

I think Carlos Kirmayer who coached her for awhile made her more agressive. Not so much off the ground perhaps, but he had her attacking the net and becoming alot more agressive that way, and going for a bit more off the ground as well, but mostly becoming an all court player rather than trying to outgrind bigger hitters off the ground. She played her best ever tennis from 1990-1992 under him, unfortnately for her Seles was unbeatable in big matches off of grass, and Steffi Graf was unbeatable still on grass. Too bad she didnt stay with him longer, especialy from 93 onwards when the womens game went downhill with Seles stabbed, Navratilova phasing out altogether, Graf constantly injured, Capriati burning out out and gone, Fernandez's career going downhill with injuries, but she herself was part of that decline with her own massive decline and couldnt capatilize on it. It was sad to watch her play in 1995, she had lost so much, and at a time Sanchez Vicario was reaching #1 and Martinez #2 at one point, she really could have won some big titles if she were in her 91 form.

[NadalAgassi]

Originally Posted by CEvertFan

I'll go with Davenport - with her wonderful ball striking ability and excellent stroke production she generated a whole lot of power. I think Venus is right up there with her though - just watch their superb 2005 Wimbledon final.

Where would you rate Serena against those two? I also think Pierce off the ground is comparable to those but her serve is not as big as those others, and she doesnt finish the points at the net as often or well.

[LeeD]

Davenport and Pierce hit very flat shots, needed their feet set to hit.
Serena hit's modern topspin, and can hit much harder than both when running or out of balance.
Does Nadal hit harder than JamesBlake?
It's a DIFFERENT kind of ball.

[Tennishacker]

You left out the biggest/strongest hitter,

JENNIFER CAPRIATI.

[CEvertFan]

Originally Posted by NadalAgassi

Where would you rate Serena against those two? I also think Pierce off the ground is comparable to those but her serve is not as big as those others, and she doesnt finish the points at the net as often or well.

Serena hits quite hard too but not as hard as her sister IMO. Serena's footwork isn't what it could be so quite often she's hitting either off her back foot or back on her heels, and only her upper body strength allows her to still get decent power on the ball. I always thought that Venus moved just a bit better and had better footwork than Serena did/does.

As for Pierce she is right up there too but needed to be "on" to come close to generating the type of power that Davenport did consistently and Lindsay made it look effortless, with no grunting (I miss the days of quiet women's tennis!), just pure easy clean flat power.

Seles could hit the ball hard but not quite as much as the others mentioned here. However, Monica was the prototype power hitter off both sides (and the most powerful of her era) which is now pretty common on the women's tour.

I'd also throw in Capriati's name into the mix too. Definitely possessed a lot of power when she was at her very best.

As an aside, if we'd been discussing just a player's single stroke I'd have to go with the Graf forehand - IMO it's still the single most devastating weapon I've ever seen a woman tennis player possess.

[JRstriker12]

I think the combo of Serena's serve + groundies outclasses everyone on that list.

[NadalAgassi]

Originally Posted by CEvertFan

As an aside, if we'd been discussing just a player's single stroke I'd have to go with the Graf forehand - IMO it's still the single most devastating weapon I've ever seen a woman tennis player possess.

Graf's serve was also very powerful for her time. I am sure if she was playing today with the further advanced technology, advanced training methods, and the juiced up radar guns, she would be well into the 120s, and atleast on par with Davenport in serving power, and behind only the Williams on this list. Especialy seeing granny Brenda Schultz come back and pop a 135 mph serve. She also had powerful volleys and a powerful overhead. Betsy Nagelsen also said her slice bit through the court and had surprising speed.

[3fees]

Dont know dont watch wta.

[NLBwell]

Assuming the serve is the fastest shot (which it is), it would have to be Sabine Lisicki.

per Wikipedia:
1 Sabine Lisicki 130.5 mph (210.0 km/h)

the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions in Bali (Nov, 2009) (she lost the point)

- don't know if there is a later, faster serve.

[billnepill]

Capriati, while probably not the hardest hitter, should be mentioned