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Study of 400,000 Tennis Points Measures Pressure's Impact in 'Slam Matches
An article on the Economist summaries a study of nearly 400,000 points played in majors from 2016-2019 and says UFEs do "bunch" under pressure.
Seems apropos given recent events with Djokovic and Osaka.
(Metered paywall, i.e.you can read limited articles with registration before subscription is required)
Excerpt: "A recent paper by David Harris, Samuel Vine and Mark Wilson of the University of Exeter and Michael Eysenck of Royal Holloway University of London finds that top-tier tennis players are surprisingly prone to mistakes caused by situation-driven anxiety—implying that this tendency may be too fundamental for coaching to cure it.
"The study analysed the rates of both UEs and winners among nearly 400,000 points from tennis’s four leading events in 2016-19. In high-pressure contexts such as break and set points, UEs were 15% more common than under less stressful conditions. Similarly, during points following ues, the chances of a repeat blunder rose sharply."
Close: "The rate of winners was unchanged by pressure. It did rise after ues, implying that players may try to make up for mistakes by putting away the next point decisively. Nonetheless, the gap in winner-to-ue ratios between matches’ eventual victors and losers was smaller on points after ues than in other contexts. The authors argue that UEs raise awareness of the risk of failure. This could expose players who go on to win matches to the mental state felt more often by losers, causing hiccups in their play.
"The paper bolsters a growing body of research on athletes’ psychological vulnerabilities. Other studies have found that basketball players’ free-throw percentage dips in the final minutes of close games, and that golfers are more likely to miss putts that have an unusually large impact on prize money. Athletes are often hailed as exemplars of mental toughness. But for everyone else who occasionally succumbs to anxiety, it may be reassuring to know that you are in good company."
Seems apropos given recent events with Djokovic and Osaka.
(Metered paywall, i.e.you can read limited articles with registration before subscription is required)
Excerpt: "A recent paper by David Harris, Samuel Vine and Mark Wilson of the University of Exeter and Michael Eysenck of Royal Holloway University of London finds that top-tier tennis players are surprisingly prone to mistakes caused by situation-driven anxiety—implying that this tendency may be too fundamental for coaching to cure it.
"The study analysed the rates of both UEs and winners among nearly 400,000 points from tennis’s four leading events in 2016-19. In high-pressure contexts such as break and set points, UEs were 15% more common than under less stressful conditions. Similarly, during points following ues, the chances of a repeat blunder rose sharply."
Close: "The rate of winners was unchanged by pressure. It did rise after ues, implying that players may try to make up for mistakes by putting away the next point decisively. Nonetheless, the gap in winner-to-ue ratios between matches’ eventual victors and losers was smaller on points after ues than in other contexts. The authors argue that UEs raise awareness of the risk of failure. This could expose players who go on to win matches to the mental state felt more often by losers, causing hiccups in their play.
"The paper bolsters a growing body of research on athletes’ psychological vulnerabilities. Other studies have found that basketball players’ free-throw percentage dips in the final minutes of close games, and that golfers are more likely to miss putts that have an unusually large impact on prize money. Athletes are often hailed as exemplars of mental toughness. But for everyone else who occasionally succumbs to anxiety, it may be reassuring to know that you are in good company."
Good point. Not need, perhaps but quantify. And some argue the top players are there because they don't fold under pressure - yet numbers show they do.
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