2024 was a breakthrough year for Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard with the 21-year-old Frenchman announcing himself in style on the ATP Tour. Perricard started the year outside the top 200 but ended it ranked #31. He won two ATP Tour titles and three Challenger titles. He has also already established himself as one of the best servers in the game.
Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard: 2024 Season in Review
Breakthrough in Lyon
Perricard started the year playing on the Challenger Tour and performed brilliantly, winning three titles. He went on a great run in April, which helped him in his first tour-level match. He received a wild card at the Open Parc clay-court ATP 250 tournament, held in Lyon, France. Perricard was born in Lyon, so winning his first ATP title there must have felt very significant for him. He got his first top-20 win in that event against Alexander Bublik and then defeated Tomas Martin Etcheverry in a brilliant final. This victory made him the lowest-ranked champion in the tournament’s history.
Special Run at Wimbledon
Wimbledon proved to be a pivotal point of the season for the Frenchman as he reached the second week of a Grand Slam for the first time. He did that as a lucky loser. His first-round win over Sebastian Korda showcased the potency of his serve. It was a thrilling five-set encounter where Perricard served 52 aces. Korda was in-form and the 20th seed in the tournament, but failed to break Perricard’s serve in the entire match. Lorenzo Musetti ended Perricard’s run in the fourth round, but he had already demonstrated his promise by that point.
A string of losses followed
Riding high after the success at Wimbledon, Perricard failed to keep the momentum and his worst phase of the season followed. He lost 8 of his next 10 matches after Wimbledon. He lost some close matches which he had been winning before. A phase like this was not at all surprising given the lack of experience and transition from one surface to another. However, Perricard came out as a better player from this setback and won the biggest title of his young career.
Incredible Triumph in Basel
Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard looked focused all week at the Swiss Indoors in Basel. He is a beast on fast surfaces and top players like Holger Rune, Ben Shelton and Felix Auger-Aliassime got to experience that. It was a perfect week for Perricard. His serve truly is a wonder, he didn’t just go unbroken for the entire tournament but didn’t even face a break point in four out of five matches. It put so much pressure on his opponents to hold serve because they knew one lost service game and they would lose the set.
With his first serve, he was hitting close to the sidelines in the final, averaging 45 cm from the sidelines (except body serves), compared to the tour average of 58 cm. His average second serve speed in Basel was 131 mph, which is higher than most player’s first serve speeds. It was astonishing. He hit 109 aces in five matches and just 15 double faults. It was not all about the serve as he showed improvement in his return game in Basel, and broke serve in every match against great servers. Perricard has been the ace King on tour this year, with an average of 18.6 aces per match in 2024, which is far higher than any of the other big servers on tour.
Important Stats
- Top-20 wins – 5
- Total titles – 5 ( All levels)
- Record against top 100 players – 19 wins, 11 losses
- Record against outside top 100 players – 29 wins, 14 losses
- Aces – 532
- Double faults – 153
Future Prospects
Perricard’s single-handed backhand was his biggest weakness but it improved over this year. It looks more solid now. He has shortened his motion which is key on faster surfaces. He can generate a good amount of pace from that wing too and hit clean winners. Perricard also moves better than most 2-metre+ players. His serve and volley are also good, thanks to his wingspan. Having total control over his emotions allows him to keep the focus on his game plan.
However, a 131 mph second serve average doesn’t lend itself towards consistency. One has to wonder if he can keep that up, or if injuries might slow his serve down over time. Or the opposite, as he gets fitter and stronger, his average serve speed on first and second serves could get quicker. If he can stay hot for some big tournaments occasionally, that will already make him hard to stop.
Ultimately, if he can find his best form at the right time, he may put himself in position to win a Grand Slam. We also can’t forget that he’s only 21 and will likely improve the other areas of his game. Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard has the potential to become the greatest server in tennis history and will be a player to watch in 2025 as he improves his game and challenges the best in the business.
Main photo credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
