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An Analysis of the First 100 Years of Wimbledon Tennis Finals
Abstract
The Wimbledon tennis tournament began in 1977 when the first men's singles final was played. In 1879 men's doubles were introduced and 1884 saw the advent of women's singles. Using elementary probability theory we can compare that the players and expected number of sets each match lasted under the hypothesis that the players were of equal ability. Consideration is also made of a “back-to-the-wall” effect which favours the player(s) trailing in the match.
This article considers the remodified model for the analysis of Wimbledon finals.
There is a growing trend to ask students to carry out their own project work in statistics. Often they choose examples from sport. This article shows the sort of analyses that might be done.
ObjectivesThis article systematically reviews the state of the art of the “hot hand” research in sports. The belief that successive attempts of an individual player are positively related, as well as the behavior influenced by such a belief, will be investigated.MethodThe analysis of experiments, simulations, and archival data from actual sport competitions are structured in a way that evidence for or against the existence of the hot hand is presented. In addition, key issues that have been raised over this debate will be highlighted, including their merits and pitfalls.ResultsThe empirical evidence for the existence of the hot hand is considerably limited. Methodological advancements as well as some experimental results indicate a shift in the debate from the adaptiveness of a potentially faulty belief to an adaptive behavior based partly on the hot hand belief.ConclusionsThe potential implications of this review for cognitive theories, empirical studies, and sport practice may provide a significant leverage point for future research and application.