You’ve missed, but was it really an unforced error?

The unforced error is a backbone of tennis statistical analysis, but how fair of an assessment is it? It is one of the most often quoted statistic in the game. However, when you ask different coaches to define it, then you get a lot of different answers. In this interesting piece on Tennis Channel and Tennis Magazine, the great writer Joel Drucker asks a number of experts (including Dr. Kovacs) for thoughts around this important statistic.

“You are playing Rafael Nadal. You have elicited a short ball, Nadal’s crosscourt backhand landing just past the service line. You line up the forehand approach shot. You’re well aware that Nadal is exceptionally fast. You also know that it’s often wise to aim approach shots down the line. But that means it will go to Nadal’s massive forehand. Then there’s the matter of Nadal’s presence and accomplishments and the likelihood that he’s probably won the vast majority of your matches—maybe even all of them. And let’s not forget the score and the opportunity created by your earlier shot. Chances to attack Nadal are not that frequent. As much as you have worked hard to stay present and simply hit the tennis ball, each of these factors occupy various regions of your brain.“

“With all that in mind, you hit what appears to be a makeable approach shot six inches long.

Your miscue will be tallied as an unforced error. The same will be the case should you miss a high volley versus the omnipresent Novak Djokovic, double-fault against power returner Iga Swiatek, net an incoming slice backhand, or shank a passing shot.“

The Unforced Error: Not So Easy to Judge

“But were any of these errors truly unforced? The premise of the unforced error is that the ability to execute the shot was completely in the player’s control: plenty of time and space. Rarely is a missed passing shot considered an unforced error. But mid-rally shots are. Should that be the case?

For surely, none of the shots cited in the examples above were missed in a vacuum. Is any?”

“The psychological piece is so hard to evaluate,” says veteran coach Mark Kovacs. “It’s hard at the highest levels of the game to measure unforced errors.”

This was a short excerpt from the article. Read the full article by Joel Drucker here – CLICK HERE