The Brutal Math of Consistency
Imagine two tennis players, both very consistent: Who wins, and by how much? For now, assume neither has a big serve; almost all of their points start neutral. The answer will surprise you. Below...
Imagine two tennis players, both very consistent: Who wins, and by how much? For now, assume neither has a big serve; almost all of their points start neutral. The answer will surprise you. Below...
Today, I played 20 points with a student, and during those 20 points, he missed eight feeds. Eight. That means that, 40% of the time, he didn’t even start the point. During the other...
You miss a shot, and you get frustrated. “How can I miss that?” “What am I even doing out here?” “Has all my practice been for nothing?” It’s an inner spiral that’s effected many...
What do Karue Sell and Scott Adams have in common? Believe it or not, both have addressed a very common, often misunderstood match play decision: When should I take my forehand up the line?...
There’s one shot in tennis that changes the geometry of the court in a way unlike any other: The swinging volley. This shot allows a player to attack in ways that are physically impossible...
Ever wonder why sports books try really, really hard to get you to place parlay wagers? It’s because the parlay bet, a bet type where you bet on multiple events, and ALL of them...
If you can keep the ball heavy, deep, and, most importantly in the court, for more shots in a row than your opponent can, you’re almost always going to win. Occasionally, one player can...
Anger wastes mental energy and clouds judgement, two clear detriments in any competitive setting, so while anger certainly has its uses, “useful emotion in the game of tennis” isn’t one of them. To better...
Sprinting to net changes the geometry of the court, in a way that allows you to be aggressive without increasing your miss rate. There are certain shots your opponent can hit that will force...
Certainty as an epistemic state is a lie. A human being can never truly be certain about something, and most people have far higher confidence in their predictions than is warranted. That said, certainty...