Dominating Tennis

Tennis study drills: watch matches like an analyst

13 drills375 minutes in all13 you can do alone
  1. 1

    The one-set tally

    40 min · Alone
    1. Watch one set, from any match or your own. Tally every point as 0-4, 5-8 or 9+ shots. Count the serve as shot one.
    2. Mark three points where a serve +1 or return +1 pattern ended it. Name the pattern.
    3. Work out your 0-4 share and compare it with the published range of 65% to 77%.
    Number to beat
    65% or more of points over by shot four
    Why it works · Know the gameHow long are tennis rallies, and what to practise
  2. 2

    Place four dots

    40 min · Alone
    1. Pick three players to watch and one set of your own that's been charted or filmed. Watch one set a session.
    2. Before you count, predict each player's style.
    3. For each set, count the points won by shot four on serve and the points won past shot eight.
    4. Place each player on the two measures and check whether they land in the style you predicted.
    Number to beat
    3 of 4 players landing in the style you predicted
    Why it works · Know the gameWhat are the styles of play in tennis
  3. 3

    The fingerprint set

    45 min · Alone
    1. Before you start, predict the most common way each player wins points: serve +1, rally forehand, return or backhand redirect, or other.
    2. Watch one set of each player. Tally how each of their won points ends, using the same four categories.
    3. After each set, check your prediction against the tally.
    Number to beat
    3 of 3 players whose top category you called correctly
    Why it works · Know the gameWhat made Federer, Nadal and Djokovic so good
  4. 4

    Ten balls, rated blind

    15 min · Alone
    1. Watch any match with pause allowed. Pause at the bounce of a rally ball and say its depth (short, mid or deep) and its height over the net (low or high).
    2. Predict whether the reply will be weak. Play on and check.
    3. Rate ten balls. Count how often a deep, low ball produced a short reply.
    Number to beat
    7 of 10 deep, low balls that forced a short reply
    Why it works · Know the gameHow to judge a good shot in tennis
  5. 5

    The three-stat trace

    20 min · Alone
    1. Watch one broadcast match and write down three on-screen stats as they appear.
    2. For each, name the instrument (tracking cameras, a hand chart or a count) and the denominator (points, serves or matches, and which ones).
    3. Name the person or institution whose work made the stat possible, and find one source page for it.
    Number to beat
    3 of 3 stats traced to instrument, denominator and source
    Why it works · Know the gameWhere tennis stats come from and when to trust them
  6. 6

    The blind stat sheet

    20 min · Alone
    1. Open the stat sheet of a finished match on broadcast or in an app, and cover the score.
    2. Read only second-serve points won, break points converted and the rally-length split if it's shown.
    3. Pick the winner and write it down. Then uncover the score.
    4. Repeat for ten matches over a week.
    Number to beat
    7 of 10 winners picked from the quiet stats
    Why it works · Know the gameWhich tennis stats actually predict who wins
  7. 7

    Call the changeover

    45 min · Alone
    1. Watch one set of any live match. At each changeover, write down the leader's chance of winning the set, as a percentage, from the score alone.
    2. Before each game, name the one point in it that would matter most if it arrives.
    3. After the set, run the scores through a win-probability calculator and count the changeovers where you were within ten points of the model.
    Number to beat
    5 of 7 changeover calls within ten points of the model
    Why it works · Know the gameWhat makes a big point in tennis: win probability and leverage
  8. 8

    Call it first

    40 min · Alone
    1. Watch one set of any match with the score graphic covered. After every point, say the score aloud before the umpire or the caption does.
    2. At deuce, say "advantage" or "deuce" for the next two points before they're shown.
    3. Before each point, say "big" or "small" for how much you think it matters.
    Number to beat
    20 points in a row with the score called correctly before the umpire
    Why it works · Know the gameHow tennis scoring works
  9. 9

    Run the breaker

    15 min · Alone
    1. Watch the next tiebreak you can find. Before each point, say who serves and from which side.
    2. Say "change ends" before the players walk.
    3. Every point, say the score that would end it and whether it's a set or match tiebreak.
    Number to beat
    12 points in a row with server and side called correctly
    Why it works · Know the gameHow a tennis tiebreak works, and who serves when
  10. 10

    Surface from the bounce

    15 min · Alone
    1. Pick ten rally clips from the majors and watch them with the sound off.
    2. Watch only the first bounce of each rally and call it: skid, kick or true.
    3. Name the surface, then the Slam, and check your answers.
    Number to beat
    8 of 10 surfaces named from the bounce alone
    Why it works · Know the gameWhat makes each of the four Grand Slams different
  11. 11

    Drop-shot markers

    45 min · Alone
    1. Watch one Alcaraz set. Before each drop shot, try to call it from the markers: opponent deep, clay or fatigue, a drive-like preparation.
    2. Count his drop-shot attempts and the points he wins with them.
    3. Compare your count with the 5.4% of points and 62% won in the charted data.
    Number to beat
    2 of 3 drop shots called from the markers before they were hit
    Why it works · Know the gameWhat Alcaraz, Sinner and Świątek changed in tennis
  12. 12

    Call the leader

    20 min · Alone
    1. Pick any rivalry. Before looking, write down who leads on each surface and by roughly how much.
    2. Open the official ATP or WTA head-to-head page and split the record by surface. Score your calls.
    3. For the surface you got most wrong, write the one adjustment you think explains it. Then find a match on that surface and check it on film.
    Number to beat
    3 of 3 surface leaders called before looking
    Why it works · Know the gameHow to read a tennis head-to-head rivalry
  13. 13

    Beat the system

    15 min · Alone
    1. Watch any match with electronic line calling. On each close call, say in or out from the live view before the graphic appears.
    2. Note the margin the graphic shows, and mark any call under 5 mm.
    3. After ten calls, count how many you matched and how many fell inside the tolerance.
    Number to beat
    6 of 10 calls matched to the system
    Why it works · Know the gameHow does Hawk-Eye work in tennis, and how accurate is it