Every week, Tennis Analytics dives deep into the data, bringing you a stat of the week to help you understand tennis better and become a little smarter.
In December, we have been looking at junior data from the 2018 and 2019 Junior Orange Bowl, featuring some of the world’s top young players.
Stat of the Week: 63%
Match winners at the U14 level, for both boys and girls, win 63% of all points with a net appearance.
At the U12 level, the numbers are quite similar.
- Boys win 61%.
- Girls win 62%.
Even match losers win more points than they lose when they come to the net.
A net appearance is defined as any point where the player comes into the net, regardless of whether they hit a volley or not.
Often, just a presence at the net draws a “freebie” by the opponent’s missed passing shot.
Point of the Week
Especially at the junior level, players are reluctant to come to the net for the fear of being passed.
Many kids would rather lose a point making an error from the baseline than lose a point by getting passed. However, the numbers show that you’ll lose fewer points getting passed.
Tennis is an imperfect sport, and match outcomes are often determined by just a few points. Getting to the net places great pressure on your opponent to make a point-ending play. The way to get better at the net is to go to the net more often.
Get passed. Make errors. Learn. And improve.
Have you wondered how effective you are at the net? Get your match tagged and then watch all of your net points with your coach, good and bad. Then take your learnings to the practice court.
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Photo of the Week
Grigor Dimitrov’s forehand.
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