The formula to becoming the No. 1 ranked player in the world is simple – there isn’t one. The rich diversity of playing styles that our sport produces creates many different pathways to the very top of the tree. Serving and volleying will help get you there. So will being solid as a rock from the back of the court. An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of year-end No. 1s from the 1991 season to present day shows remarkable variety in serve and return performance. Serving Pete Sampras finished year-end No. 1 for six straight years, from 1993 to 1998, with his last season in particular highlighting the extremes in how well he dominated with his first and second...
The Top 100 players in the world average losing more points than they win. It seems counterintuitive that the best in our sport are not more successful, but the reality of tennis is that you can win a match even by winning fewer points than your opponent. An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of the Top 100 players in the world from the 2015 season reveals just how close the margins are at the elite level of our game. The data set of 670,005 points delivers a fresh perspective on what it takes to “make it” on tour and reach the promised land of the Top 100. All points are not created equal, with some meaning a lot more...
Some Monday mornings are better than others. Take, for example, 2 February, 2004. On this particular Monday morning, Roger Federer, aged 22, woke up for the first time in his life with the No. 1 ranking beside his name. It was day one at the top of the global tennis tree, courtesy of defeating Marat Safin 7-6(3), 6-4, 6-2 in the final of the Australian Open the day before. The Swiss legend would go on to hold the coveted year-end No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings in 2004 – the first of five times he would earn that distinction. He held the top spot four straight years, from 2004-2007, and again in 2009. [ALSO LIKE] The 2004 season was...
Don’t let the evenness of 15-15 fool you. It is a statistical green light for the server to play aggressively and employ first-strike tactics to get ahead in the game. An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of the current Top 10 players in the Emirates ATP Rankings reveals a positive environment for them to play bigger and seek shorter points by delivering more firepower at the start of the point. Check Out The Game's Best Servers In The ATP Stats LEADERBOARDS Top 10 of the Emirates ATP Rankings: Holding Percentages Ranking Player 15-15 30-15 15-30 Gap From 30-15 To 15-30 1 Novak Djokovic 84 92 67 25 2 Andy Murray 85 94 64 30 3 Stan Wawrinka 83 91...