Bloomberg Sports Dives Into Analytics For Tennis

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 20th August 2013

Redesign of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center

Bloomberg Sports Dives Into Analytics For Tennis

epa03825862 Handout artist rendering released by Rosetti on 15 August 2013 shows the redesign of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA. The Plans include retractable roofs on Arthur Ash Stadium and two new stadiums along with enhanced player and fan amenities EPA/- HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES |

Bloomberg Sports announced the launch of enhanced analytics for tennis leading into the 2013 US Open. “Slam Insights” will provide fans and media with a wide variety of customized and exclusive analytic content of all ATP and WTA main draw players as the final Grand Slam event of the year gets underway on Monday. It will mark Bloomberg Sports’ most extensive foray into tennis analytics, following its popular analytic work in Major League Baseball, the NFL and European soccer.

“We are very pleased to be able to offer ‘Slam Insights’ as another example of how our enhanced analytic tools can help improve the fan and media experience, this time for tennis,” said Bill Squadron, president of Bloomberg Sports. “Using our core technology and mathematical approach to analyzing vast amounts of tennis data, the new tennis features will provide insights into player performance that will be fun, innovative and engaging for those who love analytics and those with a passion for tennis.”

“Slam Insights” will actually launch this week, in advance of the US Open qualifying tournament, with a series of daily player profiles and statistical customized breakdowns. It will also feature video insights from Bloomberg Sports’ tennis analyst Stephanie Brown and former WTA player Neha Uberoi looking at the key numbers using Bloomberg Sports Algorithms to create power rankings for serves, returns, and power hitters.

Among the distinctive lessons derived from the data is that Roger Federer’s serve is no longer ranked among the elite this season based on the Bloomberg Sports metrics. On the other hand, David Ferrer’s surge in performance is affirmed as he ranks at the top of the 2013 returners list.

On the women’s side, two Americans rank among the top servers with Serena Williams at the top of the list, while youngster Madison Keys ranks second.

Bloomberg Sports has been named by Mashable as one of its “Five Most Innovative Sports Brands for 2012,” by The Sports Business Journal as a Finalist for “Best In Sports Technology” in 2012 and by Fast Company Magazine as one of the “Most Innovative Companies in Sports” in 2011.