Serve And Volley Archives - Brain Game Tennis

2026 Australian Open. Only 2.8% Serve And Volley Points. It’s Embarrassing.

Wednesday, 28 January 2026 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day from Melbourne, Let’s talk serve and volley. Australia is the land of kangaroos, Tasmanian devils, platypus, koalas, quokkas, and serve & volley. Serving and running straight to the net is in our DNA. If you can’t serve and volley, you can’t get a driver’s license Down Under. Pure and simple. Obviously, players are serving

Published in Alexander Bublik, Alexander Zverev, Australian Open, Ben Shelton, Carlos Alcaraz, Serve And Volley, Tommy Paul

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2014 Shanghai Semi: Federer Stuns Djokovic 64 64 – 48 Times At Net

Monday, 06 October 2025 by Craig O'Shannessy

Roger Federer has once again got the ball on a string. Federer is back to his magical best, moving through to the Shanghai Masters 1000 final with a scintillating 6-4, 6-4 victory over world number one, Novak Djokovic. The reason for the Renaissance is simple. Federer is attacking the net at will, making opponents have

Published in Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Serve And Volley, Shanghai Masters 1000

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This Specific Tactic Wins 81% Of The Time At The 2025 US Open

Friday, 29 August 2025 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day, What does dominance really look like on a tennis court? Well, when you win a set 6-0, you typically win right around 70% of points in that set. For example, Carlos Alcaraz defeated Mattia Bellucci 6-1, 6-0, 6-3 in the US Open second round a couple of days ago. In set two, which Alcaraz

Published in Serve And Volley, US Open

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Karolina Muchova. In A US Open League Of Her Own.

Sunday, 01 September 2024 by Craig O'Shannessy

Hi from New York! ???? This week, Chris Evert’s comments about Karolina Muchova’s aggressive game style raised some eyebrows at Flushing Meadow. Here’s what she said regarding Muchova’s 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) victory over Naomi Osaka in the second round. “She plays like a guy. She wants to play like a guy. The guys have bigger

Chris Evert Karolina Muchova

Published in Chris Evert, Karolina Muchova, Serve And Volley, 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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Taking Novak Djokovic’s Pulse In Paris

Wednesday, 31 May 2023 by Craig O'Shannessy

Novak Djokovic is building his game on the fly to again be crowned the King of Paris. Djokovic had an average clay court campaign by his own lofty standards coming into Roland Garros, going 5-3 in Monte Carlo, Banja Luka, and Rome. The three losses were to Lorenzo Musetti, Dusan Lajovic, and Holger Rune. Not

Published in 0-4 Shots, Novak Djokovic, Return Of Serve, Roland Garros, Serve And Volley, The First 4 Shots

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2022 Wimbledon: Novak Djokovic Tournament Stats

Monday, 11 July 2022 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day! Novak Djokovic has done it again! The Super Serb won his seventh Wimbledon yesterday, which includes the last four in a row. Stunning numbers any way you want to slice them! The following breakdown combines all seven matches in one data set. Those 2022 matches were: Rd 1 def. Soonwoo Kwon 6-3, 3-6,

Published in Nick Kyrgios, Novak Djokovic, Rally Length, Serve And Volley, The First 4 Shots, Wimbledon

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Tim Henman & Pat Rafter Would Chop Today’s Deep Returners

Friday, 08 April 2022 by Craig O'Shannessy

G’day, I was sitting courtside in Miami last week watching Andy Murray battle Daniil Medvedev. Sitting next to me was Tim Henman. Our discussion initially focused on Andy’s resurgence and how he is feeling better and better on court. Medvedev won the match 6-4, 6-2, pulling away from Andy after an even start to the match.

Published in Carlos Alcaraz, Casper Ruud, Miami, Serve And Volley

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10 Clever Wimbledon Takeaways From Roger Federer

Monday, 02 July 2018 by Craig O'Shannessy

I highly recommend THE FIRST 4 SHOTS for a deep analysis of rally length. Click HERE for more information. The First 4 Shots – Video WIMBLEDON 2018 Roger Federer def. Dusan Lajovic 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 Well, that didn’t take long! Roger dusted Dusan in just an hour and 19 minutes to move through to

Published in 0-4 Shots, Dusan Lajovic, Roger Federer, Serve And Volley, Wimbledon

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Roger def. Rafa. You are going to LOVE this tactic…

Monday, 03 April 2017 by Craig O'Shannessy

Copy This. Roger That. Roger defeated Rafa for the FOURTH straight time with a 6-3, 6-4 victory in the 2017 Miami Open final. There is so much to learn from this match, and how Roger has once again taken the tennis world by storm. Let’s focus on just ONE thing that contributed heavily to the

Published in ATP Tour, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Serve And Volley, Serving

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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.