Pro Statistics and
League Statistics

Chris Foy

Craig O'Shannessey has revolutionized the way knowledgeable coaches think about rally length in pro tennis with statistics showing that 1 and 2 hit points are the norm and that long rallies of 10 plus balls are actually rare. He's already written extensively about it on Tennisplayer. (Click Here.)

But do those numbers apply to the rest of us? To find out I did a statistical study of women's league play in Atlanta, Georgia. The answer was fundamentally yes, but with a critical difference when it came to serve. To start, let me explain how I first discovered Craig's data analysis and how that inspired my own study.

Disbelief

At a coaches' symposium, I found myself sitting in Craig presentation in disbelief. He asked the conference room full of coaches a straightforward question. "What was the most common rally length at the 2015 Australian Open?"