Craig O’Shannessy: The New Magic Numbers

What percentage of overall points would make you Novak Djokovic?

What do statistics really say about tennis? We are all familiar with numbers like first serve percentages, winners, and unforced errors. But what do those really tell us about who wins, and especially, how to develop a winning game for yourself?

Not as much as many coaches and commentators think. In this series of articles, I am going to help you learn to think another way about the game, not just the pro game, but the game at all levels, and do that by first introducing some different statistics.

These are the new magic numbers. They form a basis for changing the way you think about your match play and especially how you practice.

In subsequent articles I’ll relate these insights directly to the development process for all levels. I believe that this new perspective should 100% dictate what happens on the practice court.

These statistics were developed by study of the game at the elite pro level, but also, by looking at the similar numbers across the entire spectrum of competitive tennis, from college to the 18 and under juniors all the way down to 12 and unders and…