We’ve got Thursday night football to kick off Week 1 around the Garden State as JSZ brings you three games from the gridiron. Princeton and Allentown meet in a Mercer County thriller, Demarest looks to start strong against Bergen Tech plus Washington Township tries to reach 2-0 against Pennsauken in the WJFL. Check back as the highlights are posted throughout the night!

Down 6-0, senior Ellinton Hinds who already had an interception on the first drive of the game, made one of the best catches in all of New Jersey high school football so far this season to keep Princeton (2-0) undefeated in 2025. Hinds had two leaping catches from QB Quinton deFaria, who threw for 109 yards and a TD. The Tigers beat Allentown (0-2) for the first time since 2005 and look to keep their win streak alive with a Week 2 matchup against Ewing.

JSZ’s Tyler Mroz has the highlights + reaction from Allentown: 

Jersey Sports Zone’s coverage of Princeton and Allentown is brought to you by Princeton Orthopaedic Associates.

The Minutemen took care of business in their home opener by racing out to a 35-0 halftime lead and cruising the rest of the way. Colin Beeler scored a pair of touchdowns to lead a bruising rushing attack in the victory. Paris Pratt hauled in a touchdown and added a fumble return touchdown for Washington Township (2-0). Pennsauken (1-1) will look to bounce back next Thursday against Highland.

JSZ’s James Mooney has the highlights from Sewell:

Jersey Sports Zone’s coverage of Washington Township is made possible by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.

With lead running back Reed Kauderer unavailable for the majority of the game, the Norsemen needed their other playmakers to step up. They ultimately answered the bell. Quarterback Joseph Yun accounted for three total touchdowns as Demarest (1-0) begins their 2025 season with a bang. Daejuan Joseph caught a pair of touchdown passes in the win. Bergen Tech (0-1) will now turn their focus to a game against Ferris next week.

JSZ’s Sean Dugan has the highlights from Little Ferry:

In this countdown, we look back at the fastest recorded tennis serves of all time.

Service speed remains a dominant feature in the modern game and can become a player’s trump card out on the court.

With players getting stronger and cutting-edge technology in tennis racquets making leaps and bounds, serves today are faster than ever.

We take a look at the fastest serves ever recorded by men and women out on the tennis court.

Men’s fastest tennis serve

Sam Groth – 263.4kph (163.7mph.)

Australian Sam Groth has the honour of having the fastest recorded tennis serve of all time.

The 6ft 4 Australian set the record during an ATP Open Challenger match in Busan, South Korea, in 2012 against Belarusian tennis player Uladzimir Ignatik.

Groths serve clocks in at a staggering 263.4kph (163.7mph).

Honorable mentions

Second Fastest Recorded Serve in Tennis

Albano Olivetti – 257.5 kph (160mph)

Frenchman Albano Olivetti holds the record for the second-fastest serve ever recorded. The French tennis pro also remains the second person to break the 160mph serve speed barrier.

Olivetti’s serve came in 2012 at the challenger level during the Internazionali Trofeo Lame Perrel–Faip.

Albano Olivetti holds the second-fastest record serve on the tour.

Third Fastest Recorded Serve in Tennis

John Isner – 253 kph (157.2 mph).

It would be hard not to include the American giant John Isner in this list. The 6ft 10 American is known best for his monster serves, which are delivered consistently throughout.

His monstrous serve is thanks in part to his stature. Isner clocks in as the third-tallest tennis player on the ATP behind the Croatian giant Ivo Karlovic and American young gun Reilly Opelka (both 6ft 11 inches). Ivo Karlovic currently holds the record for the fourth fastest recorded tennis serve.

Isner currently holds the third fastest serve in tennis. The Americans serve, clocking in at 253 kph (157.2 mph) during a 2016 Davis Cup tie against Bernard Tomic.

John Isner also holds the record for playing the longest match in Grand Slam history against Nicolas Mahut. During Wimbledon 2010, Isner beat Mahut in 5 sets: 6–4, 3–6, 6–7, 7–6, 70–68. The match lasted 11 hours and 5 minutes.

Isner’s serve is the fastest recorded serve in tennis, recognised by the ATP.

Fastest Tennis Serve Female

Georgina García Pérez – 220kph (136.7 mph)

Spaniard Georgina Garcia Perez holds the record for the fastest recorded tennis serve by a woman.

Perez clocked a serve of 200kph (136.7 mph) during the Hungarian Ladies Open in 2018.

Georgina Garcia Perez holds the record for the fastest serve by a female.

Why is it nearly impossible to hit a 160 mph tennis serve?

A considered calculation of stature, technique, coaching, mechanics and good old practice is said to make the perfect concoction for a fast serve.

A direct correlation has been proven between the height of a player and power during a serve. Therefore, it is no coincidence that the top servers of the game are all giants by nature.

The trajectory of a serve remains ever important. Players who are 6ft 7 or above have the ability to hit the ball with a downward trajectory, whereas those who are under that height are unable to do so.

Modern technology has also greatly aided in the incremental increase of server power over time. The changeover from wooden rackets to today’s modern racket is a huge factor in determining serve power. Advancements in string technology and racket materials also play a huge part in determining a fast serve.

Other mitigating factors include court conditions. Faster serves are much more likely to happen on a hard court and during hotter temperatures, where there is less resistance to air density, translating to faster speeds.

When you compare the fastest tennis serve with other sports, you can see how fast it is.

Fastest Football shot – 114 mph by David Hirst in 1996
Fastest Baseball pitch – 105.1 mph by Aroldis Chapman in 2010
Fastest Cricket Bowling speed – 100.2 mph by Shoaib Akhtar in 2003

What is the average tennis serve speed?

The average tennis serve speed differs between both men and women, as well as between pros and amateurs. Data shows us that for professional male tennis players, the average tennis serve speed is approximately 114 mph (on their first serve) and 93 mph (on their second serve).

For women, the average tennis serve speed clocks in at 98 mph (on their first serve) and 82 mph (on their second serve).

This data was recorded between 2002-2013, so bear in mind the average speeds have likely increased by a few miles per hour in the modern era, as racquet technology and athletes continue to evolve and adapt within the sport.

Check out Wired’s video, which covers the topic more in-depth.

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It’s the second edition of Blue Federal Credit Union‘s Fort Collins-area Athlete of the Week for the 2025-26 high school sports season.

And this week’s honor is hitting the local tennis courts with a top singles player.

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Poudre boys tennis player Owen Addington took top honors in the Fort Collins area for the week of Aug. 25-30 after a couple of dominant sweeps.

Playing on the No. 1 singles line, the Impalas senior dropped just six games in four sets across two match wins over Windsor and Northglenn’s top players.

He beat Windsor’s Joseph Bisceglia (6-2, 6-3) and followed that up with a 6-0, 6-1 over Northglenn’s Emrah Mehidic.

Addington, also a basketball player and tennis team captain, has helped Poudre get off to a 3-1 start this season that also included a team tournament title at the Thompson Valley Invitational.

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The senior and third-year varsity player is the first tennis player to earn Blue FCU Athlete of the Week honors in the award’s third school year. He joins Rocky Mountain’s Bode Nesbitt as the first winners in the 2025-26 prep sports season.

Poudre fans pushed Addington atop the polls, giving him the victory with 51.5% of the fan vote.

That propelled him past these other four outstanding Athlete of the Week nominees:

• Brooke Pravlik, PSD flag football (runner-up at 36.7%)

• Taylor Morgan, Wellington softball

• Judd Nikkel, Fossil Ridge boys golf

• Nora Ebel, Rocky Mountain girls cross country

The Blue Federal Credit Union Athlete of the Week series features five nominees on Mondays, with voting at Coloradoan.com until 11:59 p.m. every Wednesday.

Fans can nominate their favorite athletes (deadline: 11:59 p.m. every Sunday), and the Coloradoan Sports staff will ultimately select the nominees each week.

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If you have nominations for a future Athlete of the Week, please send them via email to ChrisAbshire@coloradoan.com for consideration.

View the full results:

Chris Abshire covers high school and community sports for the Coloradoan.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Poudre tennis’ Owen Addington voted Blue FCU Athlete of the Week