Best tennis server: Naomi Osaka leading WTA tour in key statistic

Naomi Osaka has endured another difficult year, but some of her stats are much better than you might think. 

As all tennis fans know, one of the keys to success in the sport is the ability to hold serve and Osaka has seemingly become a master of it

The four-time major winner has always been renowned as a big server and once clocked a 125mph first serve – the joint seventh quickest of all time. 

Having sustained an ankle injury during the clay season, Osaka’s return to the top of women’s tennis has not gone as planned. Yet, she remains the toughest player to break on the WTA Tour. 

As per stats by WTA Insider, the former world number one has won 80.4 per cent of her service games so far in 2022 –– two per cent more than her nearest challenger. 

It’s no surprise to see Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in second place. The Kazakh star stormed to victory at the All England Club earlier this month and has held serve 78.4 per cent of the time this year. 

In third place is Liudmila Samsonova, while Madison Keys and Olympic champion Belinda Bencic round out the top five. 

While Osaka leads the way in terms of serving statistics, it’s world number one Iga Swiatek who dominates many of the other categories. 

The 21-year-old went on a 37-match winning streak, which spanned 135 days across three surfaces. 

Understandably, the Polish star has won more matches against top 10 opposition than any player, with seven.

Further to this, she has won the most matches on the Tour full stop, with 44 victories and just four defeats. 

Second on this list is Wimbledon runner-up Ons Jabeur, who has won 36 matches and is currently ranked fifth in the world. 

Meanwhile, Simona Halep has 31 victories, Amanda Anisimova has 29 and both Paula Badosa and