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Should the strongest serve first? Strategic ordering of servers in doubles tennis

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  • Nikolai Avkhimovich

Abstract

Do athletes adapt to changing conditions within the match, and how? Can their strategic choice of server lead to a better outcome in a match? Leveraging point-by-point data on Grand Slam tennis doubles, we show that better historical serving performance in singles matches leads to a higher probability of being assigned as the ‘first server of the match’ in doubles. We also show adaptive athletes’ behaviour during doubles matches: poorer serving performance in the previous set leads to a higher probability of being replaced as a ‘first server’ in the following set by the teammate. Both of those strategic choices lead to performance improvement: up to $5\% $5% more points can be won if the strongest athlete serves first.

Suggested Citation

  • Nikolai Avkhimovich, 2024. "Should the strongest serve first? Strategic ordering of servers in doubles tennis," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(51), pages 6443-6452, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:applec:v:56:y:2024:i:51:p:6443-6452
    DOI: 10.1080/00036846.2023.2273804
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