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.
Last week, we showed you data on aces which, in part, come from leg power. Today, we’re looking at dropshots, which often require Alex de Minaur-like speed to run down. We have partnered with Edge10 to bring you this data and will be launching a new training program for coaches and players to improve their explosiveness, speed, and power by 12% to 21% in 8-weeks. Coming June 1st!
Stat of the Week: 1.5% & 0.6%
While dropshots are used sparsely in tennis, they are an important tool to have. You’ve seen Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal seemingly add more dropshots to their game, especially on the dirt, over the last several years.
Added power on both serves and ground strokes has forced players to position themselves deeper in the court, creating opportunities for the dropshot. Even if the dropshot is not hit for a winner it can create openings for a passing shot or lob.
Dropshots are one of the few strokes in tennis where winners outnumber errors at the top levels of the game (others are approach shots, volleys, and overheads).
Below, we measured all dropshots that ended the point (only winners and errors) after the return.
ATP
- Total Points: 317,430
WTA
- Total Points: 219,970
A few takeaways from this data.
- A dropshot ended the point 2.5x more for men than for women.
- Men hit more dropshots later in the rally (5+ shots), while the women hit more dropshots on their serve +1.
Point of the Week
Covering the dropshot requires both great anticipation and speed. Getting to the short ball is one of the longest distances you’ll sprint during a point. Not only does a player have to be explosive, but also needs to be able to “brake and recover” after getting to the ball.
Explosiveness, power, and speed all play an important role here, and you don’t improve these things by just playing tennis. Many coaches don’t require a lot of off-court training, and many players don’t enjoy it.
That all changes on June 1st.
We’re launching an 8-week off-court training program in partnership with Edge10 that is proven to make players more explosive and faster. Join our newsletter for updates.
Photo of the Week
Grigor Dimitrov’s backhand slice.
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