Tennis Glossary

A

Attacking % Match & Score Metrics ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

🖼️ What

The percentage of points where the player is in an attacking position.

📡 The Signal

Playing style indicator. High attacking % = proactive tennis. Low = reactive or pushed back.

🎯 Why It Matters

Indicates whether you're dictating play or responding to your opponent's aggression.

⭐ Impact

3/5 — Meaningful factor

📏 How it's measured

Points in attacking position ÷ total points × 100.

🚧 Common Mistake

Confusing attacking with reckless — being aggressive from the wrong position leads to errors.

🔁 Related Terms

🏆 Practical goal

Above 40% for baseline players, above 50% for aggressive styles.

🛠️ How to improve it

Develop patterns that move you inside the baseline. Look for short balls to attack.

🔤 Shorthand

Atk %

B

Break % Match & Score Metrics ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

🖼️ What

The percentage of return games where the returner breaks serve.

📡 The Signal

Your ability to capitalise when the opponent is serving. Even 20-30% is enough to win matches.

🎯 Why It Matters

Breaking serve is the primary mechanism for winning sets. You only need one break per set.

⭐ Impact

5/5 — Decisive factor

📏 How it's measured

Return games won ÷ total return games × 100.

🚧 Common Mistake

Expecting to break every return game — even top pros break less than 30% of the time.

🔁 Related Terms

🏆 Practical goal

Above 25% for competitive matches.

🛠️ How to improve it

Focus on return consistency and being aggressive on second-serve returns. Create break point opportunities.

🔤 Shorthand

Break %

C

Conversion % Match & Score Metrics ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

🖼️ What

The percentage of points won when in an attacking position.

📡 The Signal

Finishing efficiency. High conversion = clinical. Low conversion = creating chances but wasting them.

🎯 Why It Matters

Creating attacking opportunities is only half the battle. Converting them into points won is what wins matches.

⭐ Impact

4/5 — Key factor

📏 How it's measured

Points won from attacking position ÷ total points in attacking position × 100.

🚧 Common Mistake

Going for too much on the finishing shot — a well-placed shot is better than a wild winner attempt.

🔁 Related Terms

🏆 Practical goal

Above 60%. Below 55% means wasting too many opportunities.

🛠️ How to improve it

Practise approach shots and finishing patterns. Work on volley technique and overhead confidence.

🔤 Shorthand

Conv %

D

Defending % Match & Score Metrics ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

🖼️ What

The percentage of points where the player is in a defensive position.

📡 The Signal

How often you're being pushed around. Some defending is inevitable, but consistently high defending % means you're not controlling rallies.

🎯 Why It Matters

Excessive defending wears you down physically and mentally. It also limits your ability to create winners.

⭐ Impact

3/5 — Meaningful factor

📏 How it's measured

Points in defensive position ÷ total points × 100.

🚧 Common Mistake

Assuming high defending % means poor quality — some players are elite defenders who thrive from behind the baseline.

🔁 Related Terms

🏆 Practical goal

Below 30%. Above 40% is concerning.

🛠️ How to improve it

Work on positioning, depth, and taking the ball on the rise to reduce time in defensive positions.

🔤 Shorthand

Def %

H

Hold % Match & Score Metrics ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

🖼️ What

The percentage of service games won (held).

📡 The Signal

Serving reliability over a match or season. Holding serve is the minimum expectation — breaking serve is how you win.

🎯 Why It Matters

If you don't hold serve, you can't win sets without breaking every game. Hold % is the foundation of competitive tennis.

⭐ Impact

5/5 — Decisive factor

📏 How it's measured

Service games won ÷ total service games × 100.

🚧 Common Mistake

Only looking at hold % across a season without checking how it varies by opponent quality.

🔁 Related Terms

🏆 Practical goal

Above 70% for competitive juniors. Above 80% for strong tournament players.

🛠️ How to improve it

Improve first-serve percentage and develop a second-serve that can't be easily attacked.

📊 Benchmarks

ATP80–90%

WTA65–78%

Junior55–70%

Club50–65%

🔤 Shorthand

Hold %

P

Points Won % Match & Score Metrics ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

🖼️ What

The total percentage of all points won in a match.

📡 The Signal

The purest measure of dominance. Even 55% points-won usually means a comfortable win. Tennis magnifies small edges.

🎯 Why It Matters

Combines serve, return, and rally into one number. If you're above 52%, you're probably winning. Below 48%, you're probably losing.

⭐ Impact

5/5 — Decisive factor

📏 How it's measured

Total points won ÷ total points played × 100.

🚧 Common Mistake

Ignoring this stat in favour of flashier metrics like winner count.

🔁 Related Terms

🏆 Practical goal

Above 52% in competitive matches.

🛠️ How to improve it

Focus on reducing unforced errors first — they're the fastest way to shift points-won %.

🔤 Shorthand

PW %

W

Winner-to-UE Ratio Match & Score Metrics ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

🖼️ What

The ratio of winners to unforced errors.

📡 The Signal

Controlled aggression vs recklessness. Above 1.0 = attacking smartly. Below 1.0 = giving away too many free points.

🎯 Why It Matters

Combines shot-making ability with decision-making. A player with 20 winners and 30 UE (0.67) is hurting themselves despite the attacking intent.

⭐ Impact

4/5 — Key factor

📏 How it's measured

Total winners ÷ total unforced errors.

🚧 Common Mistake

Chasing a high winner count instead of reducing errors — reducing 5 UE is worth more than adding 5 winners.

🔁 Related Terms

🏆 Practical goal

Above 1.0 consistently.

🛠️ How to improve it

Reduce UE first (it's easier than increasing winners). Choose higher-percentage shot selections.

📊 Benchmarks

ATP1.0–1.5

WTA0.8–1.3

Junior0.6–1.0

🔤 Shorthand

W:UE

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