Serving big data at Grand Slam tennis

The Australian Open is currently underway and that means fans are expecting a supercharged atmosphere as their favourite tennis players battle on courts for two weeks, while commentators and critics busy dissecting statistics.

For decades tennis fans have been served with statistics such as first and second serves percentages, forced and unforced errors, winning points and not to forgetting ranking points.

Watching an exciting tennis match, whether you're on court or off court, provides plenty of entertainment and adrenaline-inducing thrill. The overall experience is further enhanced with the inclusion of big data.

Businesses have adopted big data, using it to increase retail sales, boost e-commerce performance and improve supply chain operations. In the sports arena, big data analytics seem like a good fit. For the past several years, it is proving an effective catalyst for transforming the fan experience at major tournaments particularly in the Grand Slams.

With data captured from sensors placed all over the court, fans have the advantage of accessing to real-time statistics during a match. Many avid tennis fans love to study tennis matches by comparing the statistics of their favourite players. Big data play a significant role in helping these fans analyze the game they are following. IBM has been the official technology provider for the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments for many years. The partnership has allowed for unprecedented access to tennis scoring and statistical data that we have been feeding into Watson Analytics to find out what interesting insights we can gain about the matches and players.

Accessing stats through digital devices

The amount of big data being looked at is extremely massive, with more than 50 millions data points being analyzed since 1990. The statistics measure basic information such as the speed of serves and the number of double faults to complicated and advanced data such as winners on the forehand side of the court. The in-depth analysis helps provide insights to the strengths and weaknesses in a player’s game, while also providing a predictive analysis at what may happen during and at the end of a match. Separately, tournament organizers also examine player popularity and volume of social media conversations to predict the data demands from fans viewing a tournament website and engagement on social media platforms.

Must-have tennis apps on my phone

With the incredible analysis offered by this big data platform, it creates a remarkable effect on the overall fan experience. The insights derived from big data can be channelled to fans through data visualization. As a tennis fan, if I'm not able to stream a match or be at a live event, I can always turn to the app on my smartphone to find out the predictive analysis of the matches happening at that moment. Coupled with my engagement with other tennis enthusiasts at real time on Twitter, the experience is out of this world!

Hawkeye data

With the growing demands for processing power to handle large numbers of records with many attributes, the capability in managing digital traffic is essential to create undisrupted access to the user behaviors and their access to the statistical data. In the Australian Open 2015 alone, there were:

• 14.3 million unique visitors to the ausopen.com
• 24.3 million views across all official AO video platforms
• 1.2 million unique visitors on the Australian Open mobile app
• 23 Terabytes of Internet traffic was handled by the network infrastructure, a 136 percent increase on 2014
• 10,784 games, 68,345 points and 1,128 sets captured, analysed and distributed via the AO scoring system.

All of that traffic captured requires robust cloud computing technology to ensure the entire infrastructure run smoothly during the course of the tournament. It also requires advances in network security to make sure users are protected from cyber attacks keeping their personal data safe from potentially malicious malware.

While there maybe fans who were unaware of how big data has changed the way we experience tennis, they are very likely taking part in contributing to the data. The next time you use the Australian Open app or browsing through their website, try look at the key statistics in a different perspective. Let the data be the guide to help you understand the game better and perhaps to even predict the outcome of the match before it ends. Although, bookies such as WilliamHill have the odds on current and ongoing matches, they can help you out if you're going to use data analytics for your predictions during this hard court season.

To find out more relevant materials on big data in tennis, visit the following links:

• https://www.bernardmarr.com/default.asp?contentID=724
• http://www.afr.com/business/sport/tennis-australia-mines-big-data-for-new-performance-metrics-20170118-gttwxr
• http://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2018-01-16/australian-open-tennis-statistics-clutch-time-pressure-work-win/9329322
• https://www-03.ibm.com/press/uk/en/pressrelease/52728.wss
• https://www-07.ibm.com/innovation/au/ausopen/analytics.html

Aussie Open vs French Open: Battle of the Grand Slams using Google's new Data GIF Maker

Each of the Grand Slam majors claim they offer the best tournament in tennis, offering fans with the best of tennis from live experience to social media presence. There's no doubt the intense competition between them from the number of tickets sold and prize money to players engagements on courts and off-courts and multiple offerings from sponsors at the venues.

To get us warmed up to the Grand Slam tournament in Roland Garros, here are some fun numbers about the French Open compared to the Australian Open, which already took place earlier this year.

Total staff in 2016:

Attendance in 2016:

Revenue (in USD) in 2015:

Prize money (in USD) in 2017:

Followers on Twitter (as of May 2017):

The winner is obvious, isn't it? Not quite. 

Both Majors are special and a winner of its own. The Australian Open is known as the Happy Slam because everyone from the fans to the players and even the press always have an enjoyable time at the tournament. Players always look forward to this tournament because the players who get the titles here will have the mental advantage over the other players. Roger Federer who won this year's Grand Slam continued to win several titles including in Miami and Indian Wells after that and becoming the oldest champion in those tournaments.

Meanwhile, the French Open is well known for its red clay. This year will be extra special for the Major because nine times champion Rafael Nadal will be campaigning for his 'La Decima' (10th in Spanish) after having a good run this clay season compared to two years ago. Fans and the world will be watching this tournament very closely to witness one of the most historical events ever happened in tennis history.  

Reference: Forbes.com

Australian Open 2017 Players Party

Some of the biggest names in tennis were missing from the weekend's 2017 Australian Open players party at Crown in Melbourne, Australia. Nevertheless it was very refreshing to see some of the most familiar faces in tennis below all dressed up in their casual outfit to the party. The tournament has officially kicked off today and we're looking forward to exciting tennis as well as upsets over the course of the next two weeks.

Garbine Muguruza

Kei Nishikori

Agnieszka Radwanska

Stanislas Wawrinka

Gael Monfils

Bryan brothers

Images via zimbio

Get Into The Spirit Of The Aussie Open!

The Australian Open is upon us! The draws have been announced and you can find the match-ups at the official Australian Open webpage. The players are descending on Melbourne, and for the next two weeks we'll get a good look at the world's best professionals during the first Grand Slam event of the 2017 season. For a lot of tennis fans, it may as well be a two-week holiday signaling the return of the sport. Here are a few fun tips for fully embracing the spirit of the Aussie Open.

First, you should consider adjusting your sleep schedule to whatever extent possible. That is, If you live in Europe or the United States and you want to watch the Open, you'll be faced with some tricky timing decisions. Matches can be going on in the middle of the night or the early hours of the morning, and it's a shame to miss out on the action when there are only four Grand Slams to watch each year. Naturally, you have to account for work, family, and other aspects of your day-to-day schedule. Within reason, use the early days of the Open to get on a sleep routine that allows you to be up for the best matches. You won't regret it when you catch that epic five-setter!

Second, you should think about getting out on the courts yourself. It's difficult to watch an event like the Aussie Open and not be inspired to play, so it's a great time to seize the momentum to learn some tennis skills on your own. If your game got a little rusty during the off-season you can get back into shape by searching for a private coach online using Play Your Court to find tailored instructions for the parts of your game need the most work. Get a few lessons under your belt and you'll have that backhand ready in no time for the tournament.

Third, you may want to get your hands on some of the official clothing being put out for the stars at the Australian Open. As always, Nike has put out a collection for its signature athletes and Baseline has broken down the looks you'll see sported by the likes of Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Eugenie Bouchard, and Nick Kyrgios, but there are other options as well. You might get inspired by any number of player outfits during the tournament, and you can always check out the official shop of the Open online. There's no need to go nuts, but a new tennis shirt or an Aussie Open towel makes for a nice way to embrace the tournament.

Then you should take some time to read up on the exciting young talent starting to impact the game. If you're reading about tennis, you already know all about the top players but 2017 is looking like a particularly interesting year in tennis because of a lot of young players who are beginning to challenge the old guard. On the women's side, 22-year-old Ukrainian Elina Svitolina has secured the 11-seed and Australian Daria Gavrilova (also just 22) will be looking to thrill local fans and improve upon her ranking at number 25 in the WTA. On the men's side, 25-year-old Grigor Dimitrov is looking to make good on his sensational potential, and The Australian reports that 19-year-old German Alexander Zverev is fresh off a win over Federer and is seeded 24th. These are just a few of the names that could make this a particular
ly interesting tournament.

Finally, just kick back and enjoy the tennis. It's going to be a wonderful two weeks!

Rafael Nadal arrives in Barcelona for Grand Gala Mundo Deportivo, treatment

Nadal and swimmer Mireia Belmonte pose with their Best Spanish Athletes of 2013 trophies

Rafael Nadal was crowned Best Spanish Athletes of 2013 as well as receiving "The Excellence in sports award" in an event held in Barcelona, Spain last night. This came in at the right time to cheer up the world no.1 player after a painful loss to Stanislas Wawrinka at the Australian Open final last month.

Nobody has predicted the results given that Nadal has never dropped a set against the Swiss. If you've been a sportbook enthusiast and never missed a single of these important matches, we hope you've been recommended to some of the top sportsbook websites.

“Sport has two sides: One is victory and the other one is defeat. In this case I had to lose and it was not in very nice circumstances,” Nadal said.

He further added, “But I am very grateful for what sport has given me, the career I have done. Last Sunday I experienced probably one of the most terrible situations in my career: getting injured while you are playing one of the most important tournaments in my life, the final of a Grand Slam.

Besides picking up his awards, Nadal has flown in to Barcelona for an important medical checkup with Dr. Angel Luiz Cotorro, where he will undergo some test on his back injury he suffered at the Australian Open. It is not sure if he will be 100% fit to play in the ATP 250 Buenos Aires clay court tournament.

On Thursday Rafael Nadal will be flying back to Manacor for a session of training. After that, the Spaniard will decide whether to play in Buenos Aires. We hope he will be fully recovered by then and start his campaign on clay court surface.

(Image via zimbio)

Infographic: Who are the social media champions of Australian Open 2013?

The guys at IBM has analysed social media posts across Twitter, Facebook, news sites, blogs and videos to understand fan sentiment for the first time at the Australian Open this year.

Some of the predictable facts are Maria Sharapova's first tweet (she has garnered more than 115k followers so far), Sloane Stephens tripled her Twitter followers since defeating Serena Williams and Bernard Tomic being the most popular Australian player at the Grand Slam.

There are a couple of surprises though. Firstly, Victoria Azarenka's negative sentiment is way lower than I expected and secondly, Li Na is not even listed among the Top 5 popular female players ranked by number of positive mentions. It doesn't make sense to me.

So, what do you think?

Click the image to enlarge

(Image via @desteed of IBM)

Novak Djokovic wins fourth Australian Open title

Novak Djokovic didn't rip his shirt off  after winning this year's Australian Open final. He just did a little dance after a 3-hour and 40-minute match against Andy Murray.

The Serbian player who retains his no.1 world ranking became the first man in the Open era to win three consecutive Australian titles when he beat Murray 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Born just a week apart in May 1987, both players are friends since their early junior playing days.

So close yet so far

Murray who won his first Grand Slam at the US Open last year is yet to make a breakthrough in Australia after losing a third final here in the last four years.

Djokovic has now won 6 Grand Slam titles in total.

Djokovic opens a bottle of champagne to celebrate his record breaking win

With Alessandro Del Piero after the win 

(Images via Zimbio.com)

Victoria Azarenka defends Australian Open crown in dramatic final

Victoria Azarenka not only had to fight against Li Na who was a crowd's favourite but also overcame an accusation of gamesmanship after taking a medical timeout late in the semifinal against Sloane Stephens to triumph in the Australian Open women's final.

Li Na takes a tumble

Luck was clearly on the defending champion's side when Li Na had to have her ankle taped after the first fall. The second tumble came and Li Na was blacked out momentarily after hitting her head. 

The dramatic final was also interrupted by a nine-minute break due to the Australia Day fireworks.

It was an emotional win for Azarenka

Azarenka prevailed after playing for two hours and 40 minutes with the score 4-6 6-4 6-3 to win her second Grand Slam title. She will retain her no.1 world ranking.

"I feel really happy right now," Azarenka said. "It's been a long match. It's been a tough match. Li Na was absolutely playing great tennis. Unfortunate things that happened to her, you know, but that's sport."

 Azarenka poses with the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup in the changerooms

A bottle of champagne to celebrate the win

Redfoo was at the changerooms to celebrate Azarenka's triumph

(Images via Zimbio.com, Sina Tennis)

Angelique Kerber gets birthday wish and a cake

It's Angelique Kerber's 25th birthday today.

She described that she had one of the most beautiful moments that she could ever experience on a tennis court on her Facebook.

Right after she defeated 17-year-old Madison Keys in the third round earlier today, a cake was immediately presented to her at Rod Laver Arena and the crowd sang her a birthday song.

(Images via Dailymail.uk.co)

Happenings: Dope claim, tech-savvy grandparents, wins and losses

Lu seems to have gotten over the loss yesterday after befriending a wombat

It was quite a devastating loss for Rendy Lu Yen-hsun yesterday. After bageled the 'injured' Gael Monfils in the third set, it seemed like Lu had the ticket to the third round in his bag. He also twice forced Monfils to hold to stay in the match. However, Monfils who double faulted 23 times converted his fourth match point to win in an ugly fashion.

Sexy Seppi

It wasn't an easy match for Italian Andreas Seppi either. After enduring a 4-hour long match against Denis Istomin, Seppi cooled down at the Garden Square fountain on-site at the Australian Open while doing an ATP photo shoot.

Stephens and her grandpa

Meanwhile, Sloane Stephens who is currently world no. 25 said the reason why she likes winning at the Australian Open is that her tech-savvy grandparents can keep watching her from the States.

"My grandpa texted me," the 19-year-old Stephens said. "He said they stayed up again to watch me 'on the machine' as my grandpa calls it."

Murray defends tennis over Rochus doping claim

On a more serious note, retired Belgian tennis player Christophe Rochus recently gave an interview to a newspaper in his home country claiming that doping was widespread on the ATP tour.

“There’s a lot of cheating,” he said. “Simply, people don’t like to talk about it. I simply would like to stop the pretending. This hypocrisy is exasperating.”

He suggested that the authorities might as well give up and legalise performance-enhancing drugs.

However Andy Murray hit back at Rochus doping claim.

"I would say that is far from the truth," said Murray. "Anyone can see the amount of hours of training and practice that go into what we do and there are other sports that are endurance-wise far more challenging than tennis."

"The guys can't play five or six hours and then come back the next day and run around like a rabbit.

"When guys play five or six hours in the slams, like we often do, we have a day's rest. I was told that after our match last year here, I was told that Novak, on the day off, didn't practice, didn't hit a ball, didn't get out of bed till three o'clock. Providing you put the work in, it doesn't mean it hurts any less when you have to play a couple of days later after a five-hour match, but I would not say it is impossible."

(Images via Rendy's FB Fanpage, ATP website, Sloane Stephen's Twitter page, Zimbio.com)

Victorious Blaz Kavcic collapses after a nearly 5-hour long match

The longest match so far at the Australian Open was clocked at 4 hour 52 minutes by Slovenian Blaz Kavcic who defeated Australian James Duckworth in their second round match yesterday.

When the players returned to the locker room, the winner Kavcic collapsed into a fetal position as he suffered a full-body cramp. It was said that doctors had to treat him with morphine but he denied that it was just a joke later on his Twitter page.

(Image via Blaz Kavcic's Twitter page)

Brian Baker wheeled off court at Australian Open

Brian Baker must be the most unlucky man on tour.

He was wheeled off court earlier today after retiring from his second round match against fellow American Sam Querrey at the Australian Open.

The 27-year-old only returned to the tour last year after almost six seasons out with a variety of injuries.

However, sadly, Baker who was making his debut at the first grand slam of the year was forced to quit with a knee injury.

"He's the last person that deserves anything like that with his five or six surgeries already," Querrey said.

Baker under the knife:

• Left hip (2005)
• Hernia (2006)
• Right elbow reconstructive surgery (February 2008)
• Left hip (April 2008)
• Right hip (June 2008)

(Via Dailymail.co.uk)

Players at the Lacoste lounge

David Goffin and Albert Ramos spent some time at the Lacoste lounge today for some photo shoot.

Sadly the two players lost in their first round matches. Both Goffin and Ramos fought hard in five-setters but eventually defeated by Fernando Verdasco and Marcos Baghdatis respectively.

Albert Ramos

Arnaud Clement who retired from professional tennis last year also dropped by at the lounge.

(Images via Lacoste's Twitter page)

Redfoo in Melbourne to support Victoria Azarenka

Redfoo, the American singer/DJ and one half of LMFAO is at Melbourne Park today to support defending champion Victoria Azarenka.

Although there's no official announcement about their relationship, he came close to admitting that the pair are an item. But who cares about whether they admit it or not. The pictures and his presence at Azarenka's matches tell it all. After the pictures, check out the YouTube where he talks about falling in love. You can tell that he is quite head over heels in love.

They were in Hua Hin recently for an exhibition match that featured Azarenka and Li Na

(Images Menstennisforums.com)

Fernando Verdasco takes over #AusOpen Twitter

Fernando Verdasco survived a five setter in the Australian Open opening match against Belgian David Goffin earlier today. 

Which one is scarier? The snake or the match against Goffin?

Right after the win, he took over the tournament's official Twitter account and answered some fans questions.  Here's the chat if you missed it.

1. 
   

   Australian Open ‏@AustralianOpen

   Thanks to @FeVerdasco7 for taking over the #AusOpen Twitter! And to you all for submitting your #AskFeVer questions :)

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2. 7hAustralian Open ‏@AustralianOpen

   Real Madrid RT @7Raul_11Pirata Who’s your favorite football club?#AskFeVer

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3. 7hAustralian Open ‏@AustralianOpen

   It’s a tough draw, but what do you expect in a Grand Slam? Always tough RT @jamesmuller How are you feeling about your draw?#AskFeVer

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4. 7hAustralian Open ‏@AustralianOpen

   It’s not. You need to know when to do it. I do all of my tweets. RT@Phantom_Delight Is tweeting while on tour stressful? #AskFeVer

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5. 7hAustralian Open ‏@AustralianOpen

   Go to the cinema, read, be with my family and friends RT@simone689 What do you like to do in your spare time away from the court? #AskFeVer

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6. 7hAustralian Open ‏@AustralianOpen

   No. RT @alcapponi Do you wear any good luck charm? #AskFeVer

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7. 7hAustralian Open ‏@AustralianOpen

   Beating Murray in 2009 and Losing to Nadal in 2009. RT@PiScEaN_Slim Which match is your favourite which u played at the AO? #AskFeVer

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8. 7hAustralian Open ‏@AustralianOpen

   Federer RT @VOLTAGErockcity Who is the greatest of all time?#AskFeVer

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9. 7hAustralian Open ‏@AustralianOpen

   Motivation music. Nothing in particular. Good rhythms RT@baskin_abby What’s playing on your iPod before a match?#AskFeVer

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10. 7hAustralian Open ‏@AustralianOpen

    I like to change sometimes. I want it to be back to my 20s RT@AmyFetherolf What’s up with the hair? #AskFeVer

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11. 7hAustralian Open ‏@AustralianOpen

    I'm feeling good and happy. Physically good RT @yatgunners How are you feeling right now after your tough match vs Goffin?#AskFeVer

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12. 7hAustralian Open ‏@AustralianOpen

    .@FerVerdasco7 is taking over our twitter right now. Tag your questions #askFeVer pic.twitter.com/5jX21avI

(Image via Fernando Verdasco's Instagram, Australian Open Twitter page)