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Craig O’Shannessy

Learn from the #1 tennis strategy analyst in the world

Craig O’Shannessy is widely recognized as the world leader in teaching and analyzing tennis strategy. Craig specializes in this specific area of the sport, creating his online Brain Game Tennis business to teach players, coaches, and fans the patterns of play, and winning percentages that dominate our sport.

 Tennis is a game of repeatable patterns & percentages.

Craig is the expert at bringing them to life.

Craig’s unique talents come from a blend of developing three specific skills to an exemplary level. It creates the total package of tour coaching experience, media savvy, and the ability to discuss the game in a refreshing, informed, and tactical manner.

  1. COACHING: Craig has coached on tour for 20 years, most notably working with Team Novak Djokovic from 2017-2019. During that time, Craig helped guide the Serb back to world No. 1 and also win four Grand Slam events, including back-to-back Wimbledon titles. Recently, Craig has worked with Team Matteo Berrettini, helping guide the Italian into the Top 10 in the world and reach the Wimbledon final. Craig has also worked with other Top 10 players on the men’s & women’s tour, providing analysis of their game as well as detailed scouting reports on opponents.
  2. TECHNOLOGY: Craig was the first coach in the world to develop Dartfish Match Tagging software to chart tennis matches, cutting them up into specific patterns of play to analyze. Video is the ultimate learning accelerator in our game. Craig now works closely with Infosys to bring new match metrics to the ATP Tour.
  3. MEDIA: Craig has a BA Journalism degree from Baylor University and is the tennis analyst for the world’s leading newspaper, the New York Times. Craig also writes for several leading global tennis publications, including Tennishead magazine in the United Kingdon. Craig has also been the strategy analyst for the ATP World Tour for over a decade, providing new match data and expert analysis to the world of tennis.

Wimbledon Strategy Analyst

Mats Wilander and Annabel Croft welcomed Craig to the Live@Wimbledon team this year, previewing and reviewing matches, commentating on Center Court, providing strategy analysis, and interviewing special guests such as Boris Becker – enhancing digital content with data-driven tactical insights.

Craig’s Videos

Dustin Brown def. Rafael Nadal Analysis   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYV4mp6DAO0

Ladies Semi-Final Preview   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NvqXCpY5H4

Roger Federer Serve & Volley   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z56Ywo9Rzko

Williams def. Garbine Muguruza   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqjlfnWpD5I

Williams def. Heather Watson   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Gjnhxe6IOE

Fourth Round Preview   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rJws-2Sg88

Serena Williams def. Maria Sharapova   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYOg1PtBTcc

Novak Djokovic def. Richard Gasquet   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVhSQ3zhR84

Andy Murray v Ivo Karlovic   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuTOWiWdurc

Borg vs. McEnroe 1980 Wimbledon Final   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqxeofzgSfY

Ashe v Connors 1975 Wimbledon Final   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39PiSwtUwoQ

Australian Open Expert

Craig featured as the AO Expert in the daily video preview of the Match of the Day, and also wrote detailed match reviews as the AO Analyst on the tournament’s website. Craig also took over the event’s live Twitter feed for featured night matches, providing in-depth strategic coverage.

AO Analyst: Wawrinka v Djokovic   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NrA-BanUfM

AO Expert: Groth v Tomic   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyJqVfP19Cw

AO Analyst: Sharapova v Makarova   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kT-KwCn2aUw

AO Expert: Nadal v Sela   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rJws-2Sg88

AO Analyser: Djokovic d Murray
http://2015.ausopen.com/en_AU/news/articles/2015-02-01/ao_analyser_forehands_rock.html

AO Analyser: Williams d Sharapova
http://2015.ausopen.com/en_AU/news/articles/2015-01-31/ao_analyser_serena_stands_and_delivers_.html

AO Analyser: Djokovic d Wawrinka
http://2015.ausopen.com/en_AU/news/articles/2015-01-30/ao_analyser_novaks_waiting_game.html

AO Analyser: Williams d Keys
http://2015.ausopen.com/en_AU/news/articles/2015-01-29/ao_analyser_a_glimpse_into_the_future.html

AO Analyser: Williams d Cibulkova
http://2015.ausopen.com/en_AU/news/articles/2015-01-28/ao_analyser_serena_lays_the_smackdown.html

AO Analyser: Nishikori v Wawrinka
http://2015.ausopen.com/en_AU/news/articles/2015-01-27/match_of_the_day_battle_of_the_backhands.html

Wimbledon Coaching: Dustin Brown def. Rafael Nadal

Craig was part of Dustin Brown’s coaching team, along with Scott Wittenberg and Malte Stropp, specializing in the strategy that defeated two-time Wimbledon champion, Rafael Nadal. Craig helped orchestrate the game plan, making small adjustments to Dustin’s game, and fine-tuning the tactics that produced the most memorable match of the 2015 Championships.

Match Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_fqw_i31_k

USPTA Tim Gullickson Touring Coach of the Year 

With more than 15,000 members, The USPTA is a global leader in tennis teacher certification, and professional development. Craig will be awarded the 2015 Tim Gullickson Touring Coach of the Year Award at the World Conference in New Orleans in September. The award is special recognition from the tennis industry of Craig’s remarkable work at the top level of our sport.

Tennis Channel

Craig’s expert strategy is being turned into a series of television shows on the Tennis Channel, debuting August 15, 2015. The USPTA Series, titled OnCourt with USPTA, will initially focus on serve strategy. The second show will debut later in 2015, focused on baseline play.

ATP World Tour

Craig covers all the biggest matches of the year for the ATP, including Masters Series finals and Grand Slam finals. The “ATP Brain Game Match Analysis” logo identifies Craig’s stories, which are some of the most widely read on the world’s most popular tennis website. Fans learn about the key match-ups in the biggest matches on tour, and go to the dedicated Brain Game section on the website to read all of his analysis.

ATP World Tour Finals

Craig made several appearances on the ATP’s live preview show at the 2014 World Tour Finals in London, breaking down the key metrics of the world’s best players in the end of season championships.

WTA Tennis

Craig is also the lead strategy expert for the WTA Tour, regularly contributing to the WTA Tennis website, analyzing the biggest matches in the women’s game. Craig works closely with WTA partner, SAP, to highlight a new level of tennis metrics.

New York Times

Craig has been the lead tennis strategy analyst for the past four years for the NYT, delivering insightful match analysis to the Times’ discerning global audience.

BBC Radio

Craig’s expert analysis is a breath of fresh air for tennis fans, as he explains what to look for with the specific match-ups, and stays focused on “who is doing what to whom” as the match progresses. Craig commentated several Centre Court matches at Wimbledon this year, as well as Caroline Wozniaki’s stunning upset of Maria Sharapova at the 2014 U.S. Open for the BBC’s Five Live.

Global Tennis Strategy Leader

Craig is one of the first people that the world’s media interview to get the facts at the elite level of the game. Here’s a sample of recent interviews.

Bloomberg: Nadal Succumbs ao Dustin Brown’s Moneyball Stats at Wimbledon

The Telegraph: Wimbledon Has a New Cult Hero

The Guardian: Dustin Brown d Rafael Nadal

ESPN: Dustin Brown & Organized Chaos

Sports Illustrated: How Can Sharapova Beat Williams?

Wall Street Journal: The Sport that Forgot about Scouting

BBC Sport: How Andy Murray can Beat Novak Djokovic

Bleacher Report: 2014 ATP World Tour Finals

Tech Page One: The New Data Jedi

Sloane Sports Conference: Tennis Analytics

Craig O’Shannessy – Bio

Craig O’Shannessy is an Australian tour coach and Director of the Brain Game – a sports science website that specializes in the video analysis of tennis matches that teaches the patterns of play that dominate our game.

Craig is widely recognized as the world leader in teaching tennis tactics and is the strategy analyst in 2015 for Wimbledon and the Australian Open as well as the ATPWorldTour, WTATennis, and the New York Times.

Craig has researched thousands of matches using his unique Dartfish Match Tagging software to unlock the secrets of our game and uncover the patterns and percentages that really matter. He teaches this knowledge through his website and also on court with players at all levels of the game.

Craig started coaching on the pro tour 35 years ago and has worked with players at all levels of the game. He was a part of team Novak Djokovic 2017-2019, helping guide the Serb back to the No. 1 world ranking while also winning four Grand Slam titles, including three in a row and back-to-back Wimbledon titles.

Craig began his coaching career in 1991, working with the world-renowned tennis management company Peter Burwash International (PBI) in The Woodlands, Texas. Craig was voted runner-up for Rookie of the Year in 1992 and was part of the globe-trotting PBI Tennis Show, performing in California, Guam, Seoul, Jakarta, Bali, and Oman in the Middle East.

Craig moved back to his homeland of Australia in 1995 to open the O’Shannessy Tennis Academy at the Wodonga Tennis Center — Australia’s largest tennis facility with 52 courts (30 grass/22 clay). It quickly developed into one of the leading academies in the region, attracting players from New Zealand, Indonesia, Korea, and Japan. In 1997, Craig guided Andrew Bronneberg to victory in the Australian National Junior Grasscourt Championships in singles and doubles.

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