WTA Archives - Brain Game Tennis

2024 US Open Average Rally Length. It Will Blow Your Mind.

Wednesday, 04 September 2024 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day from New York. 🗽 Who plays more long rallies at the 2024 US Open? The men or women? The quick answer is always the women. Less power on the serve and groundstrokes for the women means forcing errors or putting the ball away is more challenging. We have always had the global paradigm that

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Simona Halep – A Dream Comes True!

Sunday, 10 June 2018 by Craig O'Shannessy

For a deeper analysis of the massive impact the length of the rally has on winning a match, I highly recommend THE FIRST 4 SHOTS. Click HERE for more information about this tennis strategy course, focused on the importance of the start of the rally. The First 4 Shots – Video Congratulations Simona & Darren! Drama!

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15 U.S. Open Facts You Must Know

Friday, 04 September 2015 by Craig O'Shannessy

Numbers remove opinion. Numbers remove guesswork. Let’s embrace data, shall we? It has been an extremely enjoyable start to the 2015 U.S. Open, writing for the New York Times and analyzing data to see exactly what numbers and patterns dominate our sport. Below are 15 data points that can definitely help make you a smarter

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FRENCH OPEN 1st Round – Women closing the gap / Rafa

Wednesday, 27 May 2015 by Craig O'Shannessy

Roland Garros rocks. G’day, What a great start to the the French Open the past few days. I have been fortunate to coach at Roland Garros over the years, and absolutely love the smaller, tighter setup they have there. Yes it’s crowded, yes the crowds boo more than they should, but it’s definitely different –

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

Saturday, 02 May 2015 by Craig O'Shannessy

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

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2015 Miami: SAP 50 Match Deep Dive (Part 3 of 4 = Returning)

Thursday, 23 April 2015 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day! The return of serve is a lethal weapon in it’s own right, and has improved a lot in the past decade to efficiently neutralize the serve. The best returners in the world are also the best ranked players – much more of an equivalent effect than with the best servers. SAP’s outstanding data from

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2015 Miami: SAP 50 Match Deep Dive (Part 2 of 4 = Break Points)

Thursday, 16 April 2015 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day! Not all points are created equal – and break points carry the most weight of all in a tennis match. They are the “momentum” points that quickly swing the outcome of matches at any moment. These big points could come in the first game, in the middle of the match, or right at the

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2015 Miami: SAP 50 Match Deep Dive (Part 1 of 4 = Serving)

Monday, 13 April 2015 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day! The tennis analytics revolution is well under way. SAP are doing a great job uncovering critical data in their new relationship with the WTA, and I want to share some of that with you in today’s blog. SAP took 50 women’s matches from the 2015 Miami Open, and combined all that data into one

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Day 5 – 2013 WTA Championships from Istanbul

Saturday, 26 October 2013 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day, A big day on Saturday with Na Li and Serena Williams both winning their semi-final matches here in Istanbul. Li was very impressive to take down Kvitova in straight sets 6-4, 6-2 and she is the master of getting off to flying starts this tournament. Li went up two breaks of serve within a

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Day 4 – 2013 WTA Championships from Istanbul

Saturday, 26 October 2013 by Craig O'Shannessy

Good morning out there! Friday was a fun day here in Istanbul as I ventured to the Grand Bazaar in town before watching the matches in the evening. I can honestly say I have never seen anything that comes remotely close to the Grand Bazaar. Almost a quarter of a million people go through it

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Day 3 – 2013 WTA Championships from Istanbul

Thursday, 24 October 2013 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day! The highlight of day 3 was my 9.5hrs of straight sleep! Just kidding, but that was top 3 for sure. With the jet lag now full behind me I was able to have a great day at the tennis. The real highlight was the last match of the day with Serena Williams and Petra

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Day 2 – 2013 WTA Championships in Istanbul

Thursday, 24 October 2013 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day, Well it really has been an extremely enjoyable trip to Istanbul so far. The highlight of Day 2 was seeing the wonderful return to form of Jelena Jankovic who defeated world #2 Victoria Azarenka 6-4, 6-3 for the best win she had had in three and a half years. She was composed, confident and

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Day 1 – 2013 WTA Championships in Istanbul

Tuesday, 22 October 2013 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day from Turkey! It has been a really good few days here in Turkey and the tournament kicked off last night with three solid matches. I wrote two stories late last night and here are the links to both of them. www.wtatour.com – A Deeper Look: Serena vs Kerber www.wtachampionships.com – In Depth on Azarenka

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2013 WTA Tour Championships – LIVE from Istanbul

Monday, 21 October 2013 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day from Istanbul! It is an absolute pleasure to be LIVE in Istanbul to cover the year end championships for the WTA. This is my first time to Turkey and I must say I am loving every minute of it. I went to the draw ceremony last night which was a lot of fun, followed

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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.

There are 3 specific rally lengths in tennis. Here is their percentage breakdown of total points.

0-4 Shots = 70%
5-8 Shots = 20%
9+ Shots = 10%

The First 4 Shots is specifically the serve, return, Serve +1 groundstroke and Return +1 groundstroke. Those are normally the shots that get practiced the least, but matter the most to winning tennis matches.

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.

The “herd mentality” in tennis thinks it’s too tough to approach the net in today’s game. The conversation starts with improved string technology, more powerful rackets, and finishes with stronger, faster athletes. The herd think approaching is a relic of the past. The herd is WRONG!

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.

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!

All 4 Grand Slams

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.

Every recorded match from the 2015 Australian Open - Rd2 to the final.

There is a lot happening on a doubles court. Situations and strategies are constantly being adjusted to create mis-matches with court position. It's hard to keep track of - until now. Dou8les Num3ers is the most comprehensive analysis of doubles data in our sport. The focus is on how a point ends, and it's broken down eight ways to Sunday. Specifically, you find critical information on:

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.

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.

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.

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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