Top 10 Fastest Sports (Fastest Moving Object)

For many people, badminton is not the first sport they think of when they think of speed, but rather a quiet game in the backyard. That impression is incorrect: badminton produces the fastest recorded projectile in the sporting world. In 2013, Malaysian Tan Boon Heong hit a shuttle during a test run to 493 kilometers per hour, the fastest speed ever measured for a shuttle. In official competition situations, the speeds are slightly slower, but still far exceed any other sport on this list. What connects these ten sports is that the speed is often difficult to follow with the naked eye. While a spectator in the stands sometimes loses the ball before it hits the goal, the opponent still has to react at that same moment.

Golf does not immediately have the image of a fast sport, but the ball does reach impressive speeds with a good drive. The Guinness record is held by the American Ryan Winther, who had a ball speed of 349.4 kilometers per hour measured in 2013. That speed is reached the moment the club hits the ball, after which the ball almost immediately starts to slow down due to air resistance. During professional drives on the PGA Tour, the average ball speed is a lot lower.

Jai alai is an almost unknown sport in the Netherlands, but it is high on the list of fastest ball sports. Players catch and throw the ball with a curved basket of woven reeds, the cesta. This way of throwing appears to be particularly effective for reaching high speeds. According to Guinness World Records, the ball in jai alai can travel up to 302 kilometers per hour, making the sport one of the most dangerous ball sports in the world.

Squash is often called the little sister of tennis. This indoor variant with ball and racket is higher on the list: the official Guinness record has been held by David Hilton III since 2021, who hit the ball at 267 kilometers per hour. Because the game is played in a closed space, that speed is even more difficult. Opponents are often only a few meters apart when such a blow is struck.

In tennis, the official record is held by Australian Sam Groth, who hit a serve of 263 kilometers per hour in 2012. That record is recognized by the organization behind the Guinness World Records. A tennis ball is considerably smaller and lighter than a football, which partly explains the higher speed. When serving, the opponent usually has less than half a second to react.

Everyone has played football on the street or in the garden, but at professional level the ball reaches speeds that you would not expect. The most frequently mentioned record is in the name of Brazilian Ronny Heberson, who is said to have shot the ball at more than 210 kilometers per hour in 2006. That measurement has never been officially recognized by an independent organization, but is still referred to in the football world as an informal top speed. Ordinary top shooters usually do not exceed 130 kilometers per hour.

Not only sports where a ball flies through the air end up high in this list. In ice hockey, the puck can reach extreme speeds during a slap shot. The KHL record is held by Alexander Ryazantsev, who recorded a puck of 183.7 kilometers per hour in 2012. In the NHL, the official record is slightly lower: Zdeno Chara reached 175.5 kilometers per hour during a skills competition in 2012. A goalkeeper has less than a fraction of a second to react at such speeds.

In baseball the record is slightly higher than in cricket. In 2010, pitcher Aroldis Chapman threw a ball with a measured speed of 169.1 kilometers per hour, which still stands as an official record. A batter is currently standing a little more than 60 feet from the mound. There is hardly any reaction time with such a throw, which explains why a hit ball in baseball sometimes hits harder than expected.

Just like in baseball, in cricket the ball is thrown hard towards the batter with a run-up. The official record is held by Pakistani Shoaib Akhtar, who threw a ball of 161.3 kilometers per hour during the 2003 Cricket World Cup. That throw is still recognized as the fastest in the history of the sport. At that point, hitters have less than half a second to react before the ball reaches them.

Almost everyone knows table tennis, also known colloquially as ping pong, from hitting a ball on holiday. Things are very different at a professional level. During a smash, the ball can reach a speed of over 100 kilometers per hour, with peaks of over 110 kilometers per hour. What makes table tennis extra spicy is not just the speed of the ball itself. The short distance to the opponent gives hardly any reaction time, so professionals sometimes have to hit back twice per second.