Calling the shots at Wimbledon

More or Less: Behind the Stats

BBC

Business, Mathematics, Science, News Commentary, News

4.6 • 3.5K Ratings

🗓️ 17 July 2017

⏱️ 10 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Using statistics to prove or disprove the wisdom of tennis is the theme this week. In this digital age we are used to information at our fingertips. This week More or Less finds out how every rally, every shot at this tennis championship is counted and makes its way to our phones, desktops and TV screens. And once you have this information – what can you do with it? Is it useful for players and coaches? Traditionally, players will take a risk on their first chance to serve, and hit the ball as fast as they can, knowing that they have a second chance. On their second attempt, players tend to serve more slowly and carefully to make sure it goes in. But could the statistics show they might as well take a risk again?

(Venus Williams plays a backhand during the Ladies Singles first round match against Elise Mertens at Wimbledon. Credit: Getty Images)

Transcript

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0:00.0	Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know.
0:04.6	My name's Linda Davies and I Commission Podcasts for BBC Sounds.
0:08.4	As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality featuring the most knowledgeable
0:14.3	experts and genuinely engaging voices. What you may not know is that the BBC
0:20.4	makes podcasts about all kinds of things like pop stars,
0:24.6	poltergeist, cricket, and conspiracy theories and that's just a few examples.
0:29.7	If you'd like to discover something a little bit unexpected, find your next podcast over at BBC Sounds.
0:40.0	Hello and welcome to more or less on the BBC World Service your statistical guide to the
0:44.8	world around us. I'm Charlotte McDonald.
0:48.6	This week we turn our attention to one of the oldest tennis championships in the world.
0:58.0	Wimbledon, where the players wear all white play on graphs courts surrounded by an impressive array of celebrities
1:04.8	and hundreds of spectators drinking pims and eating strawberries. This seemed like a
1:09.7	fitting occasion to look at some of the accepted wisdom of tennis and see if they stand up to statistical scrutiny.
1:16.0	On this program we will be exploring questions such as
1:20.0	should you always play it safe on your second serve?
1:23.0	And are fresh new tennis balls an advantage to the server?
1:27.0	First of all, we headed to Wimbledon to find out
1:30.0	what stats are collected and how?
1:34.0	Wimbledon has 18 courts.
1:36.0	The company IBM provides real-time data on every shot.
1:40.0	To do this, there are three people collecting data for every match,
1:44.3	which is then fed back to a hub with more analysts.
	...

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