Mapping Roger Federer’s backhand

With the 2013 Wimbledon Championships just around the corner, I thought I’d take this opportunity to explore how Andy Murray exposed Roger Federer’s backhand in last year’s Olympic final on centre court at SW19.

Analysts claim that if Federer has one weakness it’s his backhand. But what is the most effective way to draw an error on the Federer backhand? Some say it is to force Federer to hit his one handed backhand above shoulder height. Whilst this may be true, as we have seen against Rafael Nadal many times there may be other ways to beat the Federer backhand.

Data from the Gold Medal Olympic match shows there is potential to draw a high error rate on Federer’s backhand by moving him backward into the shot.

Mapping Federer's BackhandMapping Federer’s backhands. The green swooshes indicate Federer’s movement to a backhand error or success. (Click image to enlarge).

Backward Movement to the Shot

We know that the direction and length a player must cover from their previous shot has a significant influence on the player’s next shot. In order to better understand the Federer backhand I plotted a vector of his movement to each shot (from his previous shot location). The map above shows his movement to a backhand error or outright success from his backhand. We can see from the map that 12 of Federer’s 14 backhand errors (86%) came from a backward movement to the shot. Some of the movement vectors are clearly more ‘backward’ in direction than others, but in any case there is a pattern here that may warrant further investigation. The length of movement to each error on his backhand varies from half a court to only a few steps.

Time: Success at important points wins you matches!

With a little more digging we can see further patterns emerging in the data. The map shows us that 52% of Federer’s backhand errors occurred on game point for or against him, compared to 22% on his forehand. To see this pattern a little clearer I labeled each of his errors with a time stamp, indicating when each of his errors (and winners) was made.

Federer Map Important PointsAdding a time stamp annotation to the map (like Ad-40, 15-40) allows us to understand the temporal component of Federer’s shot making tendencies.

The data from the match suggests that Federer is more likely to make an error at an important point on his backhand than his forehand. Perhaps his opponents at Wimbledon this year might want to take note of this!

Visual Exploration of Spatial Data

GameSetMap is always searching for new ways to visually explore the spatial component of tennis and I hope you agree that this infographic of Federer’s backhand begins to the lay the foundations of a potentially interesting story, a story that perhaps tells us a little more about how to draw an error on Federer’s backhand, and when to attack his backhand.

Examples like this are just the tip of the iceberg. We have much work to do in sports analytics for tennis, but hopefully this example and others like it ignite further work and discussions about what’s possible with spatial tennis data!

Notes: As discussed in my earlier research there are other spatial components that could be integrated into the map that could potentially help improve the analysis and strengthen the argument. Clearly the speed and spin on the ball are other important variables that if available would further enhance the story.

“OK Glass, show me Tennis Analytics”. How Google Glass will revolutionize the way we see tennis.

Early in 2012, the tech world was buzzing with the news that Google was about to release a wearable augmented reality device. Enter Google Glass.  Google Glass puts augmented reality right in front of your eyes, literally!

Sergey-Brin-Wearing-Google-GlassSergey Brin, co-founder of Google models Google Glass earlier this year.

There has been plenty of hype surrounding the product since it’s preview early last year, and we have seen examples how Google Glass can be used to take a picture, record a video, or get directions.

But what else might one do with Google Glass?

To activate Google Glass, you start by saying “OK Glass”. Then you ask Google Glass to show, do, or tell you something. So let’s give it a try:

Lets start with a simple question. “OK Glass, show me the weather forecast at the Australian Open today”

Google Glass Australian Open

Imagine sitting courtside at the Australian Open and wondering what the weather is going to be like for the afternoons play. Up pops the current weather conditions. It’s as simple as that.

Google Glass has the ability to overlay all kinds of information in your field of view. So let’s try this:

“OK Glass, show me Federer’s second shot placement”

Google Glass Federer

Imagine sitting courtside at the Cincinnati Open and wondering where Federer had previously played his second shot after Novak’s return of serve. Bam, up pops the trajectory lines of Federer’s second shot to show you where he’s likely to hit his next shot. Excited yet? Let’s try one more example.

“OK Glass, show me a stroke pattern heat map”

French Open Heat Map

Imagine sitting in the stands at court Philippe Chatrier and wondering where this player is going to hit his forehand? Google Glass immediately overlays the stroke pattern right onto the court so you can see where his shots have been passing on the court. Wow!

These images are a few quick examples that I put together to show you the potential of Google Glass in tennis. Google Glass will enhance our viewing experience of tennis (and all sports) by 10 fold! Sitting court side, we will be able to control when we see the stats, what stats we see and for how long. Whether it is seeing a live heat map, or 3D ball trajectory the potential is endless.

Of course, if tennis analytics isn’t your thing you may find Google Glass useful to find a friend in the crowd, or to video a point and share it on Facebook. You might even ask Google Glass for directions to Arthur Ashe Stadium!

The real time visualization of sports statistics and Google Glass are a match made in heaven. Let’s hope the ATP, WTA, and ITF fast track the delivery of real time tennis analytics to everyone so when Google Glass goes live, the game and our eyes will be ready!

To find out more about Google Glass visit their homepage.

Image Credits:

Sergy Brin wearing Google Glass: Copyright CBS Interactive

Australian Open: http://madamebonbon.com.au/blog/archives/7968

Roland Garros pic: http://lewebpedagogique.com/alaricenglishspeakers/the-tennis-and-roland-garros/

Cincy Tennis: https://shop.cincytennis.com/SeatViewer.aspx