The Serves That Defined 2025’s Breaking Points
Amid the ATP’s grueling swings from clay to hard courts, three deliveries turned pressure into power plays. Alcaraz’s aces, Fritz’s fortress, Sinner’s saves—vote for the one that cracked the season’s toughest nuts.
In the high-wire act of the 2025 ATP Tour, where every hold could flip a tournament’s script, the Stella Artois ATP Perfect Serve of the Year award zeros in on serves that didn’t just score—they commanded the court. Carlos Alcaraz’s booming deliveries in Cincinnati, Taylor Fritz’s fiery streak in Stuttgart, and Jannik Sinner’s near-perfect performance at the Nitto ATP Finals captured the raw edge of a year defined by rivalries and resilience. Fans now step up to crown the standout, reliving moments that blended brute force with ice-cool timing across shifting surfaces.
Alcaraz ignites semifinal pressure
The Cincinnati Open semi-final against rival Alexander Zverev hung in the balance under August’s sticky lights, with Alcaraz needing an early edge to shake off a summer of uneven form. He ripped off three straight aces right out of the gate, each one booming down the tee with heavy topspin that kicked high and forced Zverev’s returns into the net. That sequence wasn’t luck; it was Alcaraz dialing in his 1–2 pattern, the flat first serve pinning his opponent deep before a slice second serve pulled wide, reclaiming the crowd’s roar and setting a tone of unrelenting attack.
Zverev, ever the counterpuncher, scrambled to adjust, but those initial strikes echoed through the match, turning a potential baseline grind into a showcase of Spanish firepower on the hard courts’ speedy skid.
Fritz forges grass-court dominance
On Stuttgart’s slick grass at the ATP 250 in June, Taylor Fritz transformed early-season frustrations into a week of ironclad holds, going unbroken across 43 service games while crushing 45 aces and facing only four break points. His serves exploited the low bounce, often inside-out to the backhand with underspin that skidded low and wide, disrupting returners’ timing in the quick exchanges that define the surface. This run built layer by layer, each hold amplifying his confidence after clay’s longer rallies exposed prior weaknesses.
The American mixed flat bombs with kick serves that arced over the net, turning pressure moments into easy points and propelling him to a title that buffered his rankings before Wimbledon’s chaos. Stuttgart’s enthusiastic stands fed off the streak, their cheers a backdrop to Fritz’s tactical shift toward shorter points on a deck that rewarded precision over endurance.
Sinner locks down finals intensity
By November in Turin, Jannik Sinner arrived at the Nitto ATP Finals as the target, his top ranking drawing fire in the round-robin’s unforgiving format. He saved 14 of the 15 break points he faced,according to ATP Stats, blending crosscourt slice serves that tugged opponents off-court with down-the-line heaters that jammed the body. Indoor hard courts amplified his placement, the lack of elements allowing pinpoint variety that neutralized elite return games and preserved his energy for the knockouts.
Each hold pulsed with the Pala Alpitour’s electric hum, Sinner’s composure turning defensive scrambles into offensive resets amid a year of triumphs and tests. Defending his crown, he leaned on heavy topspin seconds to climb break-point mountains, capping a season where his serve evolved into the steady anchor for baseline mastery.
Watch the video below and then visit our hub for the ATP Perfect Serve by Stella Artois to cast your vote and learn more.
Stella Artois, a Gold Partner and Official Beer of the ATP Tour through 2028, frames these serves as the year’s sharpest weapons. As votes pour in, the winner will linger into 2026, a reminder that in tennis’s mental minefield, the perfect delivery often decides who rises next.
