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.
The data below is from the US Open 2019/20.
Stat of the Week: 60%
Have you ever wondered where most aces are served? Where should you target those big serves to maximize your freebies?
- Are more aces hit wide or down the T?
- Is it different for the deuce court vs the ad?
Ace Answers
More aces are served on the deuce side, simply because there are more points played on that side. Around 52% of all points are started in the deuce court.
- For the ATP, 54% of aces were on the deuce side.
- For the WTA, 56% of aces were on the deuce side.
Most aces are hit down the T for the deuce side. It’s about 6 out of 10 for both tours.
- The ATP hit 58% of aces down the T.
- The WTA hit 60% of aces down the T.
On the ad side, both the ATP and WTA hit 56% of aces down the T.
Two major factors influence this:
- The serve is hit over the lowest part of the net.
- The ball is travelling a shorter distance so the returner has to react quicker.
Point of the Week
You often hear commentators applauding a server for “picking their spots well.”
To do this, the server has to have the ability to read the returner, and then execute accordingly:
- Identify the stronger or weaker stroke.
- Monitor returner’s starting position (depth in court, and/or favoring one side or the other).
- Pick the correct target area to exploit.
For example, if the returner stands close to the baseline, they open themselves up for body serves. Or, if they position themselves far back behind the baseline, they will have more trouble with wide serves.
Keep in mind though, aces are not the goal. Winning the point is. If you can force a missed return, that’s just as good as an ace 🙂
Photo of the Week
Felix Auger-Aliassime made the US Open semifinal. See his serve and ball toss below.
Leave a Reply