Tennis Stats
Tennis Stats History
Since the creation of the modern version of tennis in the 19th century, the primary stats for tracking player performance have been wins and losses. This is true for all team sports, particularly with player stats in tennis. It’s all that has mattered for more than 150 years.
However, technological advances have allowed players and fans alike to gain increased insight into every game, set, and match.
In addition to head-to-head records and player records at specific tournaments or venues, both the ATP and WTA Tours now track advanced metrics such as percent of returns put in play, percent of points won when return was put in play, slice or chip returns as a percentage of all in-play returns, average rally length on return points, and net points as a percentage of all points. The success of every shot type is tracked.
But what does this mean for tennis odds when betting on particular matches? While it can help to know how effective a player is at the net, some matches, by nature, don’t involve much netplay. Two hard-hitting servers, for instance, might be back on their feet and playing near the edge of the box for much of the match.
How to Bet on Players Using Stats
Advanced metrics can be useful, but one of the first things bettors should look at as part of a betting guide for tennis is the head-to-head record. Take a look at Rafael Nadal vs. Roger Federer, two of the all-time greats.
Should these two legends play another match in 2022, bettors would have plenty of information to make an informed bet. Nadal has won 24 of the 40 matches between the two but has lost seven of the last eight matches dating back to 2015.
Federer might be the betting favorite unless the match was at Roland Garros, where Nadal has won 13 titles and only ever lost three matches.
Bettors can also look at stats like aces, and the percentage of points won on returns to get an idea of how a particular match will go. A strong server should have the advantage on serve over a player who has trouble winning return points.
Advantages of Betting on Tennis Players With Stats
Without utilizing the aforementioned tennis player stats, bettors simply make uninformed guesses on match outcomes. Knowing a player’s history against a particular opponent, how they usually play, and how they react against certain types of players all can help create a tennis betting guide and help significantly when wagering.
Bettors can also look up the average match length for tennis players at Masters 1000 and Grand Slam tournaments to determine the likelihood a match goes beyond 2.5, 3.5, or 4.5 sets.
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The ATP and WTA Tour websites have a great feature that allows bettors to input players to see their head-to-head records. The page shows a career breakdown of each player with the result of each of their matches.
A good serve can make an otherwise average player great. The Serve Rating is a good metric to determine the best servers in the sport. This number is determined through four service metrics (percent of the first serve, percent of first serve points won, percent of second serve points won, and percent of service games won) as well as a player’s average number of aces per match and their average number of double faults.
Other player stats available to bettors for tennis match-ups are unforced and forced errors, net points won, and serve speed. The Elo ratings are another useful tool that considers a player’s level of competition instead of just wins and losses.