Ace King: Isner Takes 2019 Title In Year-End Tally

John Isner served up another big season in 2019, retaining his title as the year-end ace leader on Wednesday at the Rolex Paris Masters.

Isner holds the top spot in the Infosys ATP Scores & Stats this year with 1,032 aces, marking the seventh time (2010, 2012-2013, 2016-19) he’s accomplished the feat. He’s finished on top of the annual ace tally for four consecutive years, breaking the record he shared with Goran Ivanisevic.

Isner’s Year-End Leading Ace Tally

Fellow American Reilly Opelka led this year’s tally by seven aces going into Paris. But with Opelka wrapping up his season last week in Basel, Isner retained his title with 25 aces in his opening-round match in Paris against Chilean Cristian Garin.

Earlier this month at the Rolex Shanghai Masters, the 34-year-old reached 1,000 aces, a number which he’s hit on six different occasions and every year since 2015. Isner averaged 22 aces per match this season, up from 17 in 2010.

He’s also still in contention to finish his career as the all-time ace leader. The American is second on the all-time list with 11,944 aces throughout his career, but trails Ivo Karlovic by 1,608 aces. However, the 34-year-old Isner is six years younger than the Croatian and likely has several more years to make up ground.

Isner wrapped up his season with a 30-18 record, including a title in Newport (d. Bublik) and runner-up finish at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Miami (l. to Federer).

As part of Infosys ATP Match Stats, ATP began recording ace tallies in 1991. The tally comprises aces hit in singles main draw matches from ATP World Tour tournaments, Grand Slams and the Olympics (from 2008 on). Aces in Davis Cup competition are not included.