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Title

Rating non-elite tennis players using team doubles competition results

Author(s)

Clarke, S. R.

Abstract

Statistical methods can be useful in rating non-elite tennis players. This paper shows how clubs can use simple optimization techniques to rate their club’s players in doubles tennis competitions. Even though clubs lack all relevant information, the effects of home advantage, position played, partner and strength of team opposition can be taken into account and evaluated. The results from all competing clubs, available to the body organizing the competition, are used to rate all players in the competition, and validate the results that were obtained with limited information. We show a home ground advantage exists in non-elite doubles tennis. A simple exponential smoothing method of rating players is then tested, and shown to produce reasonable results.

Publication type

Journal article

Research centre

Swinburne University of Technology. Faculty of Life and Social Sciences

Source

Journal of the Operational Research Society, Vol. 62, no. 7 (Jul 2011), pp. 1385-1390

Publication year

2011

FOR Code(s)

010206 Operations Research;  010401 Applied Statistics;  010406 Stochastic Analysis and Modelling

Keyword(s)

Exponential smoothing;  Forecasting;  Home advantage;  Regression;  Sports;  Tennis

Publisher

Palgrave Macmillan

ISSN

0160-5682

Publisher URL

http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/jors.2010.75

Copyright

Copyright © 2011 Operational Research Society Ltd. This is a pre-print of an article published in the Journal of the Operational Research Society. The definitive publisher-authenticated version (published in the Journal of the Operational Research Society, 62 (7), 1385-1390) is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/jors.2010.75

Full text

Peer reviewed