France’s Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard delivered the fastest serve ever recorded at Wimbledon when a 153-mph (246 km/h) first delivery was clocked in the opening game of his first-round match against world No. 5 Taylor Fritz on 30 June. The blast eclipsed the 148-mph mark set by American Taylor Dent in 2010 and put the 21-year-old into the tournament’s record books. The milestone did not translate into victory. With the players level at two sets apiece, officials stopped the contest shortly before the All England Club’s 11 p.m. local-time curfew. When play resumed the next day, Fritz completed a comeback to win 6-7(6), 6-7(8), 6-4, 7-6(6), 6-4, denying the Frenchman a maiden main-draw win at the Championships. The late-night interruption was the first of several contentious stoppages during the opening week. Two days later, American No. 10 seed Ben Shelton saw his second-round encounter with Australia’s Rinky Hijikata halted for fading light at 9:29 p.m.—well before the 11 p.m. curfew—just as Shelton was preparing to serve for the match at 5-4 in the third set. The decision drew protests from the players and criticism from broadcasters, renewing debate over Wimbledon’s scheduling practices and the lack of artificial lighting on outer courts.