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Tactical and Technical Analysis of the Serve-Winning Factors among Professional Tennis Players During Four Grand Slams

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This study aims to explore the differences in serving technical and tactical performance in Grand Slam tournaments based on the match outcomes (win/loss) of professional tennis players. Data were collected from 255 matches involving 123 players (57 males and 66 females) across Grand Slam tournaments from 2019 to 2023. Guided by the theory of technical and tactical performance differences, cluster analysis was employed to categorize players based on match outcomes. Subsequently, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to analyze the differences in serving performance between winning and losing players, identifying the decisive factors in the serving phase.Conclusions:The service point win rate of winning players, both male and female, was significantly higher than that of losing players, with males showing an overall advantage.The impact of ACEs on match outcomes varied across different Grand Slams for female players, while their discriminatory power was low for male players.Serving direction: Significant differences in the proportion of winning and losing players (by gender) were observed across different Grand Slams and serving directions. Male players had key directions to establish advantages, while female players demonstrated specific strategic differences, which were significantly influenced by court characteristics.Serving influence: Winning players dominated in short rallies. In medium-to-long rallies, male players maintained more stable advantages, whereas female players showed complex disparities, which were closely related to Grand Slam characteristics and tactical adaptability.Serving breakdown: Male players relied on serve quality, while ACEs emerged as a differentiating factor for female players in some Grand Slams. The discriminatory power of serving accuracy for distinguishing between winning and losing players was weaker than that of service point win rate.Serving indicators can effectively evaluate player performance. The gender-specific characteristics provide support for understanding serving strategies, optimizing training, and informing match decisions. Future research could deepen the investigation into tactical applications.
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