Craig O'Shannessy, Author at Brain Game Tennis

Rafa’s Recipe For Clay Court Carnage

Thursday, 16 May 2024 by Craig O'Shannessy

2022 ROLAND GARROS FINAL ANALYSIS What happened when Rafael Nadal hit three – and only three – balls in the court against Casper Ruud? Calculated clay-court carnage. Nadal defeated Ruud 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 in the Roland Garros final on Sunday on the back of dominating points where he hit exactly three balls in the court

Published in Rafael Nadal, Rally Length, Roland Garros

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Let’s Take Rafa’s Pulse In Rome

Sunday, 12 May 2024 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day From Rome, I was courtside for Rafa’s 6-1, 6-3 loss yesterday against Hubert Hurkacz. As all eyes look forward to Paris and Roland Garros, let’s discuss what he did well at the Foro Italico and what needs to improve by the time he clocks in for work again on Court Philippe Chatrier. THE OPENING

Published in Rafael Nadal, Rally Length, Roland Garros, Rome, The First 4 Shots

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Rafa Rides The Rollercoaster In Rome

Saturday, 11 May 2024 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day from Rome! It was like old times sitting courtside watching Rafael Nadal play on Centre Court in the Italian capital on Thursday. Rafa defeated Zizou Bergs 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in a match that saw some big swings in momentum for the 10-time champion. Let’s dive into what I noticed from the stands and what

Published in Rafael Nadal, Rome

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Rafael Nadal Rome Strategy Lesson: How To Open The Court

Wednesday, 08 May 2024 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day From Rome, I watched Rafael Nadal and Francisco Cerundolo play a couple of practice sets two days ago and really enjoyed watching Rafa working to elevate his game for one last push on the Roman clay in 2024. The following point exemplifies how smart Rafa is with his strategy. He played a very simple

Published in Rafael Nadal, Rome

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Nadal Return Example. A Devastating Three Shot Combo

Monday, 06 May 2024 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day From Roma, It was such a pleasure to watch Rafael Nadal practice here yesterday. The sport has really missed him, and we are all looking forward to seeing what he can do in Rome, at Roland Garros, and at the Olympics (also at Roland Garros) this year. Here’s the LINK to my analysis of

Published in Rafael Nadal, Return Of Serve, Rome

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Rafa’s Roma Practice Today. Five Takeaways.

Sunday, 05 May 2024 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day from Roma, It’s so good to be back in Italy working with the Italian Federation. The Rome Masters 1000 starts in three days, and all eyes are on Rafael Nadal as he probably competes in his last tournament here in the Italian capital. Rafa (37yo) practiced from 11.00 am-12.00 pm this morning with 24-year-old

Published in Rafael Nadal, Rome

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Single Digit Rallies Dominate Double Digit Rallies

Saturday, 27 April 2024 by Craig O'Shannessy

Clay court tennis is dominated by single-digit rallies over double-digit rallies. By a country mile. 🏃‍♂️ Carlos Alcaraz took his first step towards a three-peat at the Madrid Masters 1000 by defeating Alexander Shevchenko 6-2, 6-1 in an hour and some change on Thursday. It’s important to note that Alcaraz did not play in Monte

Published in Carlos Alcaraz, Madrid, Rally Length

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The perfect percentage is 54%.

Monday, 19 February 2024 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day, Jannik Sinner is the best player in the world today. Period. Sinner won Rotterdam yesterday with a gutsy 7-5, 6-4 victory over Alex De Minaur. He has now won 15 matches in a row and collected back-to-back titles after winning the Australian Open at the start of the year. But Sinner’s current purple patch

Published in ATP Tour, Jannik Sinner

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2024 Australian Open Men’s Final: 8 Keys To Victory

Saturday, 27 January 2024 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day from Melbourne! It’s the 🦊 vs. the 🐙 in the men’s final this evening! Jannik Sinner will take on Daniil Medvedev in an intriguing match-up that will decide Grand Slam glory to start 2024. Here are seven things that will go a long way to deciding the final outcome. 1: TIME ON COURT TO

Published in Australian Open, Daniil Medvedev, Jannik Sinner

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2024 Australian Open Rd1: More Points At Net

Tuesday, 16 January 2024 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day from Melbourne, Points played at the net are on the rise again at Melbourne Park this year. 📈 Hip, hip, hooray!!! 🥳 As you may well know, I am always championing players venturing to the net to win points for a variety of reasons. Taking time away, pressuring with court position, and taking the

Published in Approach & Volley, Australian Open

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Novak’s Forehand Is Being Put To Sleep

Saturday, 18 November 2023 by Craig O'Shannessy

NEW Webinar: Tuesday, November 21: 1.00 pm US Central / 8.00 pm CET Webinar 35: The Backhand Cage G’day From Torino, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer have won the year-end ATP Finals six times. Djokovic could very well be sitting alone at the top of the mountain after the dust has settled in Torino this

Published in ATP Finals, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic, Webinars

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Sinner d Djokovic in ATP Finals. 5 Things To Know Why

Wednesday, 15 November 2023 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day From Torino, I had the privilege of sitting in the front row to watch Jannik Sinner vs. Novak Djokovic at the ATP Finals last night. What a high-energy, high-level match! Sinner prevailed 7-5, 6-7(5), 7-6 (2) in three hours and nine minutes of scintillating tennis. The crowd was going ape droppings for Sinner, and

Published in ATP Finals, ATP Tour, Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic

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The Key Stat To Break Serve More Often

Tuesday, 14 November 2023 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day from Torino, Through the first four matches here at the 2023 ATP Finals, there have been 16 breaks of serve from 102 service games. That means players are holding 84% of the time. That’s a very solid number. As a comparison, the men held serve 78% at the US Open this year. One factor

Published in ATP Finals, Serving

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When Is The Right Time To Approach?

Monday, 13 November 2023 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day from Torino, Novak Djokovic and Holger Rune combined to come to the net an eye-opening 56 times in their ATP Finals match last night. Djokovic defeated Rune 7-6(4), 6-7(1), 6-3 in three hours and four minutes. It was a very entertaining match, with Rune trying to throw the proverbial kitchen sink at Djokovic to

Published in ATP Finals, Novak Djokovic

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Carlos Alcaraz Has 10 Red Flags

Wednesday, 18 October 2023 by Craig O'Shannessy

Is Carlos Alcaraz in a post-Wimbledon slump? After winning both Queens and Wimbledon this year, the 20-year-old Spaniard has competed in Toronto, Cincinnati, the US Open, Beijing, and Shanghai. He failed to win any of those five events and only made one final (Cincy). So what gives? Let’s put the magnifying glass over his two

Published in ATP Tour, Carlos Alcaraz

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How Coco Gauff Won The US Open Final

Saturday, 09 September 2023 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day from New York! Defense defeated offense. Speed of foot defeated speed of racket. Coco Gauff defeated Aryna Sabalenka. Gauff defeated Sabalenka 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 in a remarkable display of courage, determination, positive match rituals, defensive prowess, and a single-minded between-point routine that never changed, no matter if she won or lost the point. Everything

Published in Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, US Open

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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.

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