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.
Stat of the Week: 14%
Ashleigh Barty dominated opponents from the first ball struck at the 2021 Wimbledon Championships.
She won 74% of all first serve points. Her opponents could only manage 60%, a gap of 14%. That was in part due to Barty’s strength of return.
On pressure points – any time the server is 1 or 2 points away from being broken – Barty was unfazed. Not only did she win 67% of these on her first serve, but she also won 55% of these points returning against first serves!
In last week’s stat, we saw how “predictable” Djokovic was on first serve placement, especially under pressure. What about Barty?
In Pressure situations, great athletes tend to be even more predictable. Like Djokovic, not only did Barty stick with her regular placements, she upped them!
Point of the Week
Great players stick with a game plan until their opponent shows that they have an antidote. As the great old southern saying goes “Dance with the guy who brung ya!”
Most players don’t know what their true game strengths are.
What you do well in a practice match, may not translate to competition. And, what you THINK you do on court, may be very different from what you ACTUALLY do.
We see this all the time at Tennis Analytics. A player thinks they know their game, and are surprised when they see their match data.
That is why match analysis is so important.
Photo of the Week
The Francesca Schiavone one-handed backhand.
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