Studying the finer points at Wimbledon 2022 – two stats whizz kids
While most of us are enjoying the Wimbledon drama in a far from scientific way, two eagle-eyed South London students have been busy concentrating on amassing minute details of matches they observe.
Joshua Monoghan-Coombs and Ellis Burden, who are studying at Middlesex University, are working with the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) performance analysis team during the fortnight of competition in SW19.
The pair are part of a team which delivers targeted video and statistical intelligence to help coaches and players.
Josh, 24, from Lewisham, who previously studied Sport Performance at the University of Bath, said: “I have been helping with data collection, providing tournament support and turning it round to the players and the coaches – feeding insight around what the data says about the match.
“The LTA has millions of pieces of data which they put in to match reports. It goes into a software which is accessible to people in the performance team and the player and the coach who can see, point by point, what has happened in a match”
The performance analysis team match reports include the breakdown of first and second serve, what sort of situations players are in and whether shots are attacking or neutral.
Ellis, 22, from Bromley, is new to Performance Analysis in sport, having studied computer science at undergraduate level.
He said: “It has been really good. I have learnt such a lot and was so happy to get the place. When I looked at the specification of the studentship and the knowledge I would gain from it, I knew that it would be absolutely brilliant for me.
“I have worked more of the women’s side with the LTA, gathering and reporting the data and then publishing it on the website or sending it off to coaches directly.
“I would love to get a full-time role in Performance Analysis in sport. I really love sport and have always wanted to work in it.”
Pictured top: Josh Monoghan-Coombs hard at work (Picture: JMC)
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