Man, I love these serve speed threads. You never, ever see a woman our there making insane claims.
Me, I don't care how fast my serve is. I care how many are not returned or are popped up to my partner.
Our better yet, shanked sideways into the vision. Those are the best
Frankly, it's because women simply have no place in this discussion.
Typical feminist histrionics aside, the reality is women are just not genetically predisposed to big serving and big hitting. It takes a woman an entire formation in tennis from a young age just to approach hitting with power, and even then most top women can't outhit an above average male rec player. She might be more fit, more experienced and have better legs, but power for power, stroke for stroke, a rising 4.0 has the edge. As LeeD said, many 4.0 men can 'easily' hit into the 130s on a flat first serve, and note that many of these men are playing with 'men's' tennis balls: Dunlop Fort or Slazenger Wimbledon Extra Duty, some of the biggest, fluffiest and heaviest balls in history. The women, by contrast, tend to use high flying golf balls like the Wilson US Open Series or Babolat Roland Garros Regular Duty that amplify power and bounce.
Now I'm not saying that a typical 4.0 male will beat a top WTA player; that would be ridiculous. But a strong, athletic rising 4.0 will certainly have the
capacity to outhit a WTA pro. It's just the disadvantages of a non-tennis-focused upbringing and lack of mental preparation that handicap the male in this matchup.