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.
November is Doubles Month! Each week, we’ll bring you brand new doubles data.
Stat of the Week: 79.7%
Today is the last day of the WTA Finals where the top 8 doubles teams played in Guadalajara to compete for the year-end trophy.
We reviewed five 2021 hard court matches for each team at this year’s Finals for over 4,000 points of data. We’re going to try to bust an old doubles “myth”.
- It’s best to serve down the T in doubles… right?
Below are the first serve location and win percentages for the best 8 WTA doubles teams on the planet.
Although these teams do target the T serve more often, they have a higher win percentage serving out wide.
The highest win percentage is serving wide in the deuce court. However, the T to wide difference is more significant in the ad court.
So while serving down the T in doubles can be a good strategy, to say that it is “best” might be overstating it.
Point of the Week
When looking at this data, we do have to keep in mind the frequency with which each serve occurs.
Because serving wide is less common, we should consider the surprise factor. If an opponent returning in the deuce court has a weak backhand return we might do this.
- Serve T
- Serve T
- Serve T
- Serve wide… surprise!
In this case, the wide serve might be more effective because of the three T-serves that came before it.
However, in our data above the differential, especially in the ad court, certainly calls into question the idea that “serving down the T is best.”
If you want doubles data on your matches, purchase a player package. You can split it 4 ways 😉
Photo of the Week
Daniil Medvedev moves backwards for a defensive backhand.
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