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Featured focus areas
We want to give you an understanding of how to work with the match summary (statistics and video in match mode) using different analysis focuses. They should give you a feeling for how you can best interpret the data and thus extract the most important insights for your training work. In this article we kick off this series with the match opening.
Usually, the more active player wins the match. And of course we as coaches want our players to take the dominant role in the match. Different stats quickly indicate whether this has been achieved.
Focus on match stats
Rally length & Winner
Look at the percentage of rallies that were decided in the range of 0-4 strokes. Did your player manage to keep rallies short and if so, how many of them have been won? In this context, also look at the number of winners. Even if this always has to be considered in the situational context, it can give a good first impression of whether the points were aggressively pursued or whether he/she regularly opened up the field for the later winner.
Net approaches
Offensive play also means taking the risky route from time to time. Especially after short balls, you should move forward more often to finish the point at the net. Therefore, look at how often the player approached the net and how successful he/she was.
💡Tip: Give players who tend to go the more defensive way a guideline on how often they should approach the net in a match. You can check the number and success rate later. Especially if the actions were successful, this guideline (proven with data) will be more memorable.
Focus on shot analysis
Stroke length and distribution
Use the heat map of the placement map to check what percentage of the shots with a good length were played into the back third. Switch between the percentage and absolute distribution (by clicking on the field) to see more clearly whether the player just played through the middle or moved the opponent from side to side with well-placed shots.
Shot position
A good indication of your player's tactical alignment is, of course, also the shot positions. The corresponding heat map of the placement map gives a good feeling for whether the players are basically moving well and aggressively looking for the early hitting point. The goal here should be to give your opponent little time and not hit the ball too far behind the baseline.
Click on the lower half of the field in the placement map and choose between the different display options. Filter by shot type using the control panel and see, for example, whether the player also moved into the field in order to hit his/her backhands early. Of course, you can also view the volleys directly to get a first impression.
💡 Tip: Filter the heat map by set in order to match the data even better to the corresponding result and to give it more significance.
Speed
You can compare the average speeds of the forehand and backhand directly with those of your opponent and see who set the pace in the rallies. Check the speed graph to see whether the average speed was kept high throughout the match.
📖 This might also interest you
An offensive style of play is naturally characterised by the first shots in the point. Therefore, also have a look at the article on the topic of match opening.