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: 45%
Last week we looked at the difference in server stats on break points for top ATP players.
Today we look at the women’s game. The data set used is for almost 67,000 points on the WTA tour in 2021 and 2022.
Like the men, server’s are in control on first serve, but less so on break boints. There is a 3% advantage gain by the returner on these pressure points. On second serves, as pointed out in a few earlier posts, the returner has the advantage. On break points, even more so.
- First Serve: The server wins 65% of all points, and 62% of break points.
- Second Serve: The server wins 46% of all points, and only 45% of break points.
Point of the Week
Obviously, making the first serve is important, especially on the women’s tour. The second serve is generally a slight liability to the server.
To help, some coaches advocate hitting an “aggressive second serve” for their first on pressure points. Unfortunately, we are not able to track this so it’s up for debate if this is a good strategy.
Breaking down your serve (and return) efficiencies in different situations is important. Your serve stats may look okay on all points, but not so good on pressure points. That is where indexed video can help. Filter and view specific moments in a match. Click here to see how our clients do this to improve their game.
Photo of the Week
Sofia Kenin’s forehand.
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