Top ATP Servers Head To Mexican Open In Acapulco Despite Slow Courts
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Some of the best servers on the ATP Tour will compete at the 2025 Mexican Open in Acapulco, even though the court speed won't necessarily favor them.
Tennis is an incredibly competitive sport. Only about the Top 100 players on both Tours are able to make a living playing, and to be among the 100 best, tennis players often have to be smart about their schedules.
That's why we often see many clay-court specialists travel to South America in February to compete during the popular Golden Swing. Tournaments in Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, and Santiago are all played on clay courts, giving them a unique chance to use their qualities on the red dirt.
Players who like to play on the grass courts try to utilize the short part of the year when tennis is played on the low-bouncing grass court, and those who like to play indoors do the same during the last months of the ATP season.
But players aren't always in a position to choose the event with the preferred court speed or conditions, or there is a different factor influencing their decision to play at such an event.
The Mexican Open in Acapulco has one of the slowest hard courts on the ATP Tour. In fact, as per Tennis Abstract, there are only five hard-court events that have courts slower than those in Acapulco.
But there are still two important reasons why many of the top servers choose to play in Acapulco over the Dubai Championships, which is also an ATP 500 event played in the same week, and has much faster courts.
The ATP 500 tournament in Acapulco has almost a perfect spot in the calendar for the combination of its location and conditions. It's played in the last week prior to the Indian Wells Open, which is an ATP Masters 1000 tournament.
The Indian Wells Open is one of the two slowest ATP Masters 1000 hard-court events, so the fact that courts are slow in Acapulco actually suits players for their preparation for the tournament in Indian Wells.
The other obvious factor is the event's location. Mexico is much closer to the United States than the United Arab Emirates, which makes this tournament a perfect spot for players, even though the conditions might not be ideal for them.
Alexander Zverev is one of the biggest servers on the ATP Tour. As per Tennis Stats, the German player hit almost 10 aces a match in 2025. He hit 107 aces in 11 matches.
The same applies to Denis Shapovalov. The Canadian has 114 aces in 10 matches, which means he hits over 11 aces per match. Jakub Mensik, who will play in Acapulco as well, is second in the ace statistics in 2025. He hit 163 aces in 11 matches (almost 15 per match).
Aleksandar Vukic is another player who will compete in Acapulco and managed to hit at least 100 aces in 2025. The Australian player has hit exactly 100 aces in 8 matches (12.5 aces per match) this year.
Taylor Fritz is among the top players when it comes to aces as well. He has 132 in 12 matches, which is exactly 11 per match. All of these players will compete in Acapulco, which means five of 11 players who hit at least 100 aces this year will play at one of the slowest hard courts on the ATP Tour, but they all have one great reason to do that - the Indian Wells Open.
