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Saturday, 02 May 2015 / Published in WTA

2015 Miami: SAP 50 Match Deep Dive (Part 4/4 = Rallying)

G’day!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend! Here is the final installment on the superb SAP 50 Match Data Set from Miami. Below are the links to the first three stories in case you missed them.

Miami 1 – Serving

Miami 2 – Break Points

Miami 3 – Returning

SAP is doing an amazing job bringing new data to life on the WTA Tour. It is extremely informative, and helps everyone understand the game better, including coaches, players and fans.

Ok, so let’s get to the numbers, and just like the first three installments, I am going to give the players a grade on how they performed in each area, as well as show how the four semi-finalists performed. Overall, the serve grades were lower, the return grades were higher, and things were generally very good on break point as well. Let’s see how the ladies performed from the back of the court.

Forehand Winners 961 (66%) / Backhand Winners 495 (33%) (Grade A)

This is right where it should be, with forehands dominating from the back of the court. Too often we still hear that women’s tennis is ruled by backhands – well, feast your eyes on these numbers, and you will soon realize that it simply is not the case. I really like a 2-1 ratio of forehand winners to backhand winners. If you are junior reading this, or a coach of a junior, then this is a road map for you to absolutely follow.

  • 107 Serena Williams (Forehand 72 / Backhand 35)
  • 58 Carla Suarez Navarro (Forehand 41 / Backhand 17)
  • 51 Andrea Petkovic (Forehand 37 / Backhand 15)
  • 48 Simona Halep (Forehand 31 / Backhand 17)

Unforced Errors: Forehand 1279 / Backhand 1110 (Grade A-) 

This is excellent news for the forehand. The forehand hits double the amount of winners than the backhand, and has basically the same amount of unforced errors. These kind of numbers shed very informative light on how a stroke performs on both ends of the spectrum (winners & errors), and lets you know that more forehands is a very good thing in our sport.

  • 114 Serena Williams (Forehand 68 / Backhand 46)
  • 72 Simona Halep (Forehand 37 / Backhand 35)
  • 71 Andrea Petkovic (Forehand 38 / Backhand 33)
  • 63 Carla Suarez Navarro (Forehand 31 / Backhand 32)

81% – Shots Deep of the Service Line (Grade A-)

Both forehands and backhands were identical in this area, with 19% in the service boxes. I really like this depth number, as some balls should go short on purpose, such as drop shots, or short slices trying to bring an opponent to the net to take advantage of some comparatively weaker volleys. There is nothing better to force errors in tennis than getting the ball deep, and 8 out of 10 is a great place to start!

  • Simona Halep 83%
  • Carla Suarez Navarro 82%
  • Serena Williams 81%
  • Andrea Petkovic 79%

44% Deep to Ad Court / 37% Deep to Deuce Court (Grade A+)

I love the focus of attacking the backhand through the Ad Court. The missing 19% were shots inside the service line. The main focus should definitely be trying to attack the opponents backhand, and then open up a hole in the deuce court to attack once the opponent has been moved wider and deeper. Good form!

  • Carla Suarez Navarro 51% Ad / 31% Deuce
  • Simona Halep 45% Ad / 38% Deuce
  • Serena Williams 44% Ad / 37% Deuce
  • Andrea Petkovic 42% Ad / 37% Deuce

28% Shots Played Inside Baseline (Grade B).

This is a monster stat that means a lot to the win/loss column. The more you hug the baseline the better. You definitely want to have better numbers than the opponent standing on the other side of the net. Really aggressive numbers would be 50-50 in this area. I would really like to see this move to around 35%, showing a real commitment to “climb the ladder” up into the court to attack the opponent with footwork as well as the hands.

  • Serena Williams 46%
  • Carla Suarez Navarro 30%
  • Andrea Petkovic 23%
  • Simona Halep 21%

85% Topspin / 13% Backspin / 3% No Spin (Grade A-).

It’s really hard to fault these numbers, as they are very situational. Overall, I would like to see a little more backspin used, as it can slow a rally down, produce outstanding defense, keep a ball low, or just throw an opponent for a loop with a slower ball. Faster is not always better. The mix is the key.

  • Simona Halep 93% Topspin / 4% Backspin / 3% No Spin
  • Serena Williams 90% Topspin / 6% Backspin / 3% No Spin
  • Andrea Petkovic 88% Topspin / 10% Backspin / 2% No Spin
  • Carla Suarez Navarro 83% Topspin / 16% Backspin / 1% No Spin

Average MPH – Forehand 69mph / Backhand 67mph (Grade A-)

I am quite surprised that these numbers are as close as they are. The forehand wins the battle, but not by much at all. It just goes to show that ripping backhands happens a lot on the women’s tour, and variety is not quite as prevalent as on the ATP Tour. The numbers are solid – I would just like to see a few more curve balls off the backhand side, reducing that speed a little. You don’t need to drop the hammer all the time.

  • Serena Williams: Forehand 73mph / Backhand 68mph
  • Simona Halep: Forehand 71mph / Backhand 70mph
  • Carla Suarez Navarro: Forehand 70mph / Backhand 66mph
  • Andrea Petkovic: Forehand 69mph / Backhand 64mph

6.5 Shots – Average Rally Length When Serving (Grade A)

The first thing to recognize here is that 6.5 is for both players, so it’s only really 3 and some change for the server. So you crush a serve, hopefully hit a run-around forehand to the opponent’s backhand, and then rip a deep ball through the Ad again that produces an error. Think about how you practice – is the main focus on the first three shots? I imagine it’s not…

  • Serena Williams 6.5 Shots
  • Simona Halep 6.5 Shots
  • Andrea Petkovic 6.6 Shots
  • Carla Suarez Navarro 6.9 Shots

There is a lot to digest there. Take your time with it. Read it. Come back to the blog. Read it again. Compare it to the other parts of the game. Hop on Twitter and thank @SAPSports and the @WTA for making these wonderful stats available.

I hope you have learnt a lot. I certainly have. Let’s all work together to make the game even better!

All the best,

Craig

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The practice court is clearly broken. Here’s the proof.

Points are "front loaded". By far the majority of the action, and the winning, takes place in THE FIRST 4 SHOTS. The practice court is full of long rallies. Matches are dominated by short rallies. There is a massive disconnect occurring.

We spend too much time grinding, banging balls up and down the middle of the court – that have no real benefit to winning tennis matches.

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0-4 Shots = 70%
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9+ Shots = 10%

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The net is an extremely high percentage place to be!

If you love playing tennis for fun, spend as much time at the baseline as you like. But if you compete – if the score matters – then you must turn your attention to the net to maximize your potential.

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AVERAGE WIN %
Baseline = 46%
Net = 66%

Data from ALL Grand Slams provides the facts about approach and volley, and the data is crystal clear – it’s immensely better than staying back at the baseline, grinding for a living.

Num3ers

The baseline is a tough place to create separation. Here's how to do it.

At the 2012 US Open, only 7 men and 14 women had a winning percentage from the baseline. At Wimbledon 2016, Andy Murray won the title only winning 52% of his baseline points - and he is one of the very best at it in the world!

Num3ers deeply explores the data that rules points, especially from the back of the court. Take a "deep dive" into all three rally lengths (0-4, 5-8, 9+), and winner and errors totals from the elite level of our game. The numbers will shock you!

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Forcing Errors = 41% Men / 37% Women
Winners = 32% Men / 29% Women
Unforced Errors = 27% Men / 34% Women

Num3ers is very much like putting a jigsaw puzzle together. It's about bringing together different data sets together to create the big picture.

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Doubles Numbers

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Winners rise to the #1 way a point ends (over forced & unforced errors)

- The last shot of the rally is overwhelmingly struck at the net.
- Center Window: the most important part of a doubles court to control.
- Stephen Huss: an in-depth interview on Wimbledon's Centre Court with the 2005 Wimbledon Doubles Champion.

Dou8les Num3ers leaves no stone unturned. Percentage breakdowns of how often the server or receiver hits the last shot highlight the dramatic influence of the serve. The last shot of the rally is significant, and is broken down into the following categories: volleys, overheads, passing shots, lobs and groundstrokes.

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When you play a match, you actually play two matches.

When you walk out onto a tennis court, there are two matches that you are about to play. The first is during the point - a part of the match that you have spent a lot of time preparing for on the practice court. But there is a second match, that takes place in the 20 seconds between the points. This is where the mental and emotional aspects of our sport kick in.

Let's face it, there will be adversity in almost every tennis match that you play. The storm clouds are coming. How bug they are, and how long they last for, are up to you.

Between the points is very tennis specific. It provides a roadmap for the 20 seconds between the points, teaching how to handle the adversity that will surely come, and how to build on the successes that will also be present. Your mind is your biggest asset in a match, and Between the Points takes your hand off the self destruct button and stops you beating yourself.

25 golden rules of singles strategy

You don't have to be good at everything, but you have got to be good at something.

You can break tennis down into four key elements - serving, returning, rallying and approaching. Each part has specific patterns of play that consistently deliver higher winning percentages than the others. No more guessing. No more opinions. All facets of our sport are covered in this exceptional product, clearly outlining what patterns to gravitate to, and how to best construct the practice court. Data comes primarily from the 2015 Australian Open.

Building Blocks

MEN = 70% errors / 30% winners
WOMEN = 74% errors / 26% winners

Forcing errors is the best way to construct a point.
You can simply break tennis down into primary and secondary patterns of play - and they are all covered here. Primary patterns include serve and return direction, forehands v backhands, and the best way to approach the net. Secondary patterns include drop shots, serve & volley and 1st volley options. If you play tournaments, this product will greatly help you simplify the singles court.

25 golden rules of doubles

The conversation starts & ends with the Center Window.

The doubles court is like an hourglass. There are two big ends, but a small neck in the middle where all the action happens. Once you learn the power of the Center Window, where you stand to start the point will take on a lot more significance.

Doubles is a lot more about situations, with four people on the court all "dancing" with one another. Learn all the best doubles patterns, broken down for the server, returner, server's partner and the returner's partner.

Doubles Situations

The "J" - the most ideal movement for the returner's partner to attack the net.

The "V" - a better way of understanding where the server's partner should move to.

Volley Targets - there are four main areas to attack. Know which ones are higher percentage. Beach Volleyball - the idea of a "setter" and "spiker" is ideal for the doubles court.

There are certain parts of the court that the ball travels to a lot, and other low percentage areas that you really don't want to cover at all - like the alley! In general, the serving team wants to keep the ball in the middle of the court as much as possible (to help the server's partner), while the returning team benefits from hitting wider and creating more chaos in the point.

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