Rafael Nadal Archives - Brain Game Tennis

2024 US Open Serve Analysis. Which Is Better? Foot Back Or Foot Up?

Tuesday, 01 October 2024 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day, Is it better to keep your foot back or bring it up in your service motion? On the surface, both seem to work just fine. It really depends on what feels right for you and what you were taught when you were younger. It feels like players get to load more and explode upward

Published in Ben Shelton, Coco Gauff, Frances Tiafoe, Grigor Dimitrov, Matteo Berrettini, Naomi Osaka, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Roland Garros, Serving, Taylor Fritz, US Open

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The Best Last Resort Tactic In Tennis Is?

Thursday, 22 August 2024 by Craig O'Shannessy

Want to win the 2019 US Open final? You better serve and volley. Rafael Nadal defeated Daniil Medvedev 7-5, 6-3, 5-7, 4-6, 6-4 in four hours and fifty minutes, with a combined 49 serve and volley points naturally occurring from both players to counter each other’s ruthless baseline patterns of play. When push came to

Published in Daniil Medvedev, Rafael Nadal, Serve And Volley, US Open

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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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The Art Of Winning 2nd Serve Points

Wednesday, 10 August 2022 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day, Is your second serve a strength of your game? I can say with almost certainty that it is not because it’s not for almost everyone on the 🌏. Consider these numbers from recent US Open tournaments for both men and women. MEN US Open: 2nd Serve Points Won The first thing to consider is

Published in 2nd Serves, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, US Open, Webinars

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Serve Webinar: The Eight Serve Factors

Monday, 08 August 2022 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day! You always play two matches when you step onto the court to compete. During the point. Between the points. We have all heard how tennis is such a mental game. Staying focused on your game plan and the opponent is a crucial element of that. The August 18th webinar (Serve Strategy: Patterns, Percentages

Published in Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Serve Webinar, Serving, Stefanos Tsitsipas

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Rafael Nadal: Roland Garros Serve/Return Analysis

Thursday, 02 June 2022 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day, Rafael Nadal is through to the semi-finals of Roland Garros, chasing an unprecedented 14th title in Paris. Here’s the road he has taken so far: Rd 1 def. Jordan Thompson 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 Rd 2 def. Corentin Moutet 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 Rd 3 def. Botic Van De Zandschulp 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 Rd 4 def.

Published in Rafael Nadal, Roland Garros

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2022 Roland Garros Preview: 25 Match Metrics For Nadal & Djokovic

Monday, 30 May 2022 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day from Paris, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will play for the 59th time in the quarter-finals of Roland Garros on Wednesday. Overall, Djokovic leads the head-to-head 30-28. Djokovic won their last meeting, which was at Roland Garros in 2021. All of that will be water under the bridge when they do battle in the

Published in Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Rally Length, Roland Garros

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Rome 2022: Return Serve Position Analysis

Sunday, 15 May 2022 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day from Roma, You can break down what happens in a tennis match into four simple categories. Serving Returning Rallying Approaching Different players are going to employ different strategies, but in general, you are going to find minor variations in the patterns of play because players know what works and what doesn’t from playing hundreds

Published in ATP Tour, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Return Of Serve, Rome

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Rafael Nadal Simulcam & Stromotion Forehands

Thursday, 28 April 2022 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day, Watching two Rafa’s spank forehands instead of one is simply mesmerizing! Stromotion and Simulcam are two very cool tools in the Dartfish suite that I don’t typically use a lot. But these videos of Rafael Nadal practicing in Rome in 2021 seemed like a good idea! The Simulcam tool puts two Rafa’s on the

Published in Rafael Nadal, Rome, Simulcam

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Rafael Nadal: How He Thrives From A Ultra-Deep Return Position

Tuesday, 26 April 2022 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day, Thanks to Rafael Nadal, we are in the age of the ultra-deep returner. Rafa started the revolution of standing wayyyy back near the back fence to return, and now other players such as Daniil Medvedev, Casper Ruud, and more are following suit. What’s the benefit? Glad you asked! The end game for Rafa to

Published in Court Position, Rafael Nadal, Return Of Serve, Rome

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Nadal def. Kyrgios. Returning & Rallying. What Were Their Targets?

Friday, 18 March 2022 by Craig O'Shannessy

Rafael Nadal def. Nick Kyrgios 7-6(0), 5-7, 6-4 Where you return serve and where you rally are the not same locations. The 2022 Indian Wells quarter-final between Rafael Nadal and Nick Kyrgios offers a prime example of players’ different targets when returning a serve and developing a rally. Return Of Serve Players generally have a

Published in ATP Tour, Nick Kyrgios, Rafael Nadal, Return Of Serve

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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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