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.
February is Aussie Open month. Once the event gets underway, we will feature some key insights from the tournament.
Stat of the Week: 60%
At the pro level, where do most winners come from?
- Forehand or backhand?
- From what position on the court?
- To what target area?
![Australian Open court lanes](https://i0.wp.com/www.tennisanalytics.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Australian-Open-court-lanes.jpg?resize=768%2C509&ssl=1)
In a study done by our partner Craig O’Shannessy, using the above court “lanes”, these are some findings:
![2018 Grand Slam data](https://i0.wp.com/www.tennisanalytics.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/2018-Grand-Slam-data.jpg?resize=384%2C160&ssl=1)
- Forehands account for over twice as many winners as backhands!
![Australian Open court lanes 34 percent](https://i0.wp.com/www.tennisanalytics.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Australian-Open-court-lanes-34-percent.jpg?resize=768%2C296&ssl=1)
- Most forehand winners are hit from position C.
- 59% of all forehand winners are hit from the ad court (C and D).
To where are most forehand winners hit?
- A: 60%
- D: 40%
Winners to B and C were negligible. The dominant Forehand winner pattern is the inside in forehand from C to A.
![Australian Open court lanes C to A](https://i0.wp.com/www.tennisanalytics.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Australian-Open-court-lanes-C-to-A.jpg?resize=768%2C505&ssl=1)
Point of the Week
For most players, the forehand is a weapon, while the backhand is a more defensive shot.
Sound movement and balance is key to developing the forehand, especially when moving around a backhand to hit an inside-out forehand (from C/D to D) or an inside-in shot (from C/D to A).
Interested in looking at more in-depth stats? Take a look at the following courses created in partnership with Craig O’Shannessy and Brain Game Tennis:
Photo of the Week
Novak Djokovic’s forehand.
![Novak Djokovic’s forehand](https://i0.wp.com/www.tennisanalytics.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Novak-Djokovics-forehand.jpg?resize=768%2C541&ssl=1)
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