"Sinners, the total dominator of the circuit according to 'Big Data': Why?"

Carlos Navarro | 20 Sep 2024 | 13.15

Jannik Sinner, with the title of US Open 2024 champion. Source: Getty

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Jannik Sinner has more than earned the title of the best player of the year 2024 so far. His résumé is impressive, leading alongside Carlos Alcaraz in Grand Slam titles (two), being the only player capable of defending Masters 1000 crowns (also two), and reaching quarterfinals in all tournaments he has participated in over the last nine months. His successes are undeniable, but they have not come by chance: Big Data supports Jannik, revealing impressive numbers that explain his dominance in this 2024.

The tennis world was demanding that technology, so prevalent in other sports, have a prominent place in the racket sport ecosystem. The ATP has gradually been implementing it, but we have become accustomed to seeing statistics such as shot scores, "conversion", or points won "in defense" during many matches. What once seemed almost imperceptible has now been turned by the ATP into a fairly reliable measure of players' levels, using different metrics to calculate the score of each shot, as well as considering match and point moments to determine how players perform in them.

The fact is, Jannik Sinner is the best player on the circuit in several statistical categories. From the back of the court, no one plays like him. Or, at least, no one achieves the scores that Big Data attributes to him. An average score of 8.80 from the right side, 8.48 from the backhand side, and 8.04 on returns: these are the best statistical averages in three key areas of the game. There is no one who strikes the forehand and backhand better and more consistently than Jannik. Why?

One aspect that technology measures, in addition to consistency (and the Italian makes very few unforced errors), is speed. Jannik hits both the backhand and forehand at a faster pace than the circuit average: 78 miles per hour on the right side (five miles faster than average) and 73 miles per hour on the backhand side (seven miles faster than the average). Almost identical speeds, surpassing the rest of the circuit, combined with surgeon-like precision and a flatter trajectory than average (his backhand passes five centimeters closer to the net than the circuit's average, for example). Absolutely devilish shots that have led him to the world number one ranking.

ONE OF THE BEST "CONVERTERS" ON THE CIRCUIT

We've talked about the backhand, forehand, and returns, three categories in which Sinner leads. However, the surprises don't end there. The Italian excels in another statistical category called "conversion," which is the number of points a player wins once they are in an attacking position and have control of the point. If Jannik has the opponent in his clutches, he rarely lets them slip away: no one in the ATP has a better "conversion" ratio on each point than him, with 73% of points won every time he is in an attacking position. Furthermore, Sinner's versatility also places him in the top 10 of players who steal the most points while in a defensive position, adding 37.5% of points in that statistic. Adding to that his backhand and forehand revolutions surpassing the circuit's average, we find a flawless machine that, according to Big Data, dominates from both sides of the baseline, defends better than anyone, and attacks like no other. Numbers that explain his evolution and why, indeed, Jannik Sinner is the world number one.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Sinner, el dominador total del circuito según el "Big Data": ¿por qué?