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Sunday, 05 July 2026 / Published in Wimbledon

2026 Wimbledon: How Players Manipulate Time.

G’day from Wimbledon,

Time is the enemy. It’s also your best friend. Funny how that works.

Time is a key component of our great sport. How much time does our opponent allow us to prepare for the next shot? How much time do we have to get our hands and feet organized? How much time do I need between points so I don’t feel rushed?

This year, Wimbledon is tracking four metrics that revolve completely around time – or the lack of it. Let’s dig in and see what we can learn from all men and women in the round of 16.

MEN: AVERAGE SERVICE GAME LENGTH = 2m 44s

There is over a minute difference between the average times of service games between Taylor Fritz (2m 4s) and Alex De Minaur (3m 5s). What’s intriguing here is that both are manipulating time to their benefit. Fritz ikes to rush through service games and dominate with powerful first serves that don’t come back in play. He does not give opponents the time to strategize. They are just reacting.

At the other end of the spectrum, Cobolli, Mochizuki, and De Minaur all take over three minutes per service game on average. They are constricting you like a python. They control the tempo and the time and stretch things out while suffocating you with their consistency and defense. There is also a layer where Cobolli, Mochizuki, and De Minaur are having to go deeper in their service games because opponents are winning more points. Their serve is not their main weapon, so opponents can drill deeper.

What’s so good about our sport is that short and long both work. Taking time away and adding time both have their place on the world’s biggest stage.

IMPROVE YOUR ODDS OF HOLDING SERVE

Webinar 3: Serve Strategy And Patterns

Webinar 16: Serve +1 Strategy

Webinar 21: Serve And Volley / Return And Volley

Webinar 34: The Eight Serve Locations

Webinar 54: First Point Of The Game

MEN: AVERAGE TIME BETWEEN POINTS = 20s

Fritz and Bublik are in a race to get things done. In a race to manipulate the point before it even starts by making you rush at the beginning. Smart. On the other end of the spectrum, Djokovic, Safiullin, Auger-Aliassime and Sinner want to make you wait. They control when a point starts. Not you. It’s a great way to make opponents wait and wait and overthink and self-implode.

MEN: AVERAGE TIME TO 2ND SERVE = 11s

It’s pretty remarkable that Zverev is taking sooo much more time than any of the other players. Fritz, Cobolli, and Bublik all average taking HALF as much time as Zverev does. Does this beg the question regarding a serve clock for second serves as well? Zverev is very successfully trying to make you wait and wait and wait for his second serve. He controls time by repeatedly bouncing the ball and not serving until he is ready – and you are probably annoyed for having to wait for so long.

MEN: AVERAGE RALLY DURATION = 8s

We all get the feeling that De Minaur likes to battle in longer points and use his legs and lungs to his advantage. Two key problems with continually extending the rally is fatigue (mental and physical) and injury. De Minaur has been susceptible to both. There is not much difference once the point starts, but players who like to take time away, such as Fritz and Bublik, do so while the ball is in play and between points. They never let up.

WOMEN: AVERAGE SERVICE GAME LENGTH = 3m 6s

Nomi Osaka is the female version of Taylor Fritz in this time analysis. She plays the shortest service games, by far, trying to attack opponents before they know what’s happening and how to create a game plan against her time-shortening strategy. Eala is the longest, which is probably a combo of her trying to play at her pace and opponents going deep in her service games and pushing the point score past Deuce.

WOMEN: AVERAGE TIME BETWEEN POINTS = 21s

Pegula and Osaka are once again leading the pack of Rd16 players enjoying short service games and also getting on with it between points. They are not interested in milking the clock. They are interested in taking your time away to figure out what’s going on. On the flip side, Jovic, Bouzkova and Bencic prefer to string things out and control time. They probably want to annoy opponents by how long they take, which is still within the rules.

WOMEN: AVERAGE TIME TO 2ND SERVE = 13s

If Paoline serves a first serve fault, she is the quickest at getting back into position and delivering her second serve. This is probably more about her preferred quicker rhythm than about trying to mess up opponents.

Jovic, Bouzkova and Mertens all take the longest amount of time to hit their second serve after a first serve fault. They want to make sure all their ducks are in a row. Bouncing the ball. Breathing. Planning. They want to get it all done in the required time.

WOMEN: AVERAGE RALLY DURATION = 8s

There is only a three-second difference between slowest and fastest average rally durations. It’s interesting to note that the players who are slowest between points tend to be the slowest during points. Want to play short points? Also, be quick between the points.

SUMMARY

Like a lot of new data, you don’t really know what it means, or how important it is when you first absorb it. But the more we look into this specific area of our sport, the more we will understand the importance of taking time away from, or adding time to, the match. Some players want to get things done and dusted quickly. They either love a faster rhythm, or want to make their opponent play faster to take them out of their rhythm.

Other players want you to wait. They want to get under your skin because you can’t play at the speed you like. You are always waiting during points and having to hit more shots in longer rallies.

Time helps players work both ways. What’s your ideal rhythm? Which one of these male or female players do you connect with the most?

The practice court is clearly broken. Here’s the proof.

Points are "front loaded". By far the majority of the action, and the winning, takes place in THE FIRST 4 SHOTS. The practice court is full of long rallies. Matches are dominated by short rallies. There is a massive disconnect occurring.

We spend too much time grinding, banging balls up and down the middle of the court – that have no real benefit to winning tennis matches.

There are 3 specific rally lengths in tennis. Here is their percentage breakdown of total points.

0-4 Shots = 70%
5-8 Shots = 20%
9+ Shots = 10%

The First 4 Shots is specifically the serve, return, Serve +1 groundstroke and Return +1 groundstroke. Those are normally the shots that get practiced the least, but matter the most to winning tennis matches.

The net is an extremely high percentage place to be!

If you love playing tennis for fun, spend as much time at the baseline as you like. But if you compete – if the score matters – then you must turn your attention to the net to maximize your potential.

The “herd mentality” in tennis thinks it’s too tough to approach the net in today’s game. The conversation starts with improved string technology, more powerful rackets, and finishes with stronger, faster athletes. The herd think approaching is a relic of the past. The herd is WRONG!

AVERAGE WIN %
Baseline = 46%
Net = 66%

Data from ALL Grand Slams provides the facts about approach and volley, and the data is crystal clear – it’s immensely better than staying back at the baseline, grinding for a living.

The baseline is a tough place to create separation. Here's how to do it.

At the 2012 US Open, only 7 men and 14 women had a winning percentage from the baseline. At Wimbledon 2016, Andy Murray won the title only winning 52% of his baseline points - and he is one of the very best at it in the world!

Num3ers deeply explores the data that rules points, especially from the back of the court. Take a "deep dive" into all three rally lengths (0-4, 5-8, 9+), and winner and errors totals from the elite level of our game. The numbers will shock you!

All 4 Grand Slams

Forcing Errors = 41% Men / 37% Women
Winners = 32% Men / 29% Women
Unforced Errors = 27% Men / 34% Women

Num3ers is very much like putting a jigsaw puzzle together. It's about bringing together different data sets together to create the big picture.

Every recorded match from the 2015 Australian Open - Rd2 to the final.

There is a lot happening on a doubles court. Situations and strategies are constantly being adjusted to create mis-matches with court position. It's hard to keep track of - until now. Dou8les Num3ers is the most comprehensive analysis of doubles data in our sport. The focus is on how a point ends, and it's broken down eight ways to Sunday. Specifically, you find critical information on:

Winners rise to the #1 way a point ends (over forced & unforced errors)

- The last shot of the rally is overwhelmingly struck at the net.
- Center Window: the most important part of a doubles court to control.
- Stephen Huss: an in-depth interview on Wimbledon's Centre Court with the 2005 Wimbledon Doubles Champion.

Dou8les Num3ers leaves no stone unturned. Percentage breakdowns of how often the server or receiver hits the last shot highlight the dramatic influence of the serve. The last shot of the rally is significant, and is broken down into the following categories: volleys, overheads, passing shots, lobs and groundstrokes.

When you play a match, you actually play two matches.

When you walk out onto a tennis court, there are two matches that you are about to play. The first is during the point - a part of the match that you have spent a lot of time preparing for on the practice court. But there is a second match, that takes place in the 20 seconds between the points. This is where the mental and emotional aspects of our sport kick in.

Let's face it, there will be adversity in almost every tennis match that you play. The storm clouds are coming. How bug they are, and how long they last for, are up to you.

Between the points is very tennis specific. It provides a roadmap for the 20 seconds between the points, teaching how to handle the adversity that will surely come, and how to build on the successes that will also be present. Your mind is your biggest asset in a match, and Between the Points takes your hand off the self destruct button and stops you beating yourself.

You don't have to be good at everything, but you have got to be good at something.

You can break tennis down into four key elements - serving, returning, rallying and approaching. Each part has specific patterns of play that consistently deliver higher winning percentages than the others. No more guessing. No more opinions. All facets of our sport are covered in this exceptional product, clearly outlining what patterns to gravitate to, and how to best construct the practice court. Data comes primarily from the 2015 Australian Open.

Building Blocks

MEN = 70% errors / 30% winners
WOMEN = 74% errors / 26% winners

Forcing errors is the best way to construct a point.
You can simply break tennis down into primary and secondary patterns of play - and they are all covered here. Primary patterns include serve and return direction, forehands v backhands, and the best way to approach the net. Secondary patterns include drop shots, serve & volley and 1st volley options. If you play tournaments, this product will greatly help you simplify the singles court.

The conversation starts & ends with the Center Window.

The doubles court is like an hourglass. There are two big ends, but a small neck in the middle where all the action happens. Once you learn the power of the Center Window, where you stand to start the point will take on a lot more significance.

Doubles is a lot more about situations, with four people on the court all "dancing" with one another. Learn all the best doubles patterns, broken down for the server, returner, server's partner and the returner's partner.

Doubles Situations

The "J" - the most ideal movement for the returner's partner to attack the net.

The "V" - a better way of understanding where the server's partner should move to.

Volley Targets - there are four main areas to attack. Know which ones are higher percentage. Beach Volleyball - the idea of a "setter" and "spiker" is ideal for the doubles court.

There are certain parts of the court that the ball travels to a lot, and other low percentage areas that you really don't want to cover at all - like the alley! In general, the serving team wants to keep the ball in the middle of the court as much as possible (to help the server's partner), while the returning team benefits from hitting wider and creating more chaos in the point.