Shocking Jannik Sinner statistics confirm he is outside top 50 in key rankings
Jannik Sinner’s improved serve has been one of the primary reasons why he has climbed to the top of the tennis ladder over the last couple of years, but surprising statistics suggest he has plenty of improvements to make on one of the key shots in his make-up.
Sinner revamped his serve mid-way through the 2023 season, with the improvements offering instant rewards for the Italian, with former British No 1 Greg Rusedski among those who highlighted the changes made by the Italian and his coaching team
“He retooled the serve with Darren [Cahill] and that’s something very, very difficult to do,” Rusedski told ATPTour.com last year.
“I’ve been super impressed; the whole team has done a fantastic job with him. And it all started with making a change to the serve, the body, transitioning, adding slice and adding things.
“They’re still not 100 per cent natural, but they’re only going to get better with time because he’s one of those guys who is going to put in the work.
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“He got himself in better shape because he’s gotten a little bit leaner. He’s willing to add in a slice once in a while, transition forward. It’s just a mindset.
“There’s no real weakness on each side. And I think the more comfortable he gets with transitioning forward with the firepower he has from the back that his shot selection has improved.”
They were glowing words from a former US Open finalist who built his career around an explosive serve, yet the statistics for this tennis year suggest Sinner has plenty of room for improvement on his biggest weapon.
The Italian has won the Australian Open in January and he claimed his first Wimbledon title in July, but a glance at the first serve percentages compared to his ATP Tour rivals this year reveals a surprise statistic.
Sinner is down in 54th position for first serve percentages, one place behind Britain’s Jacob Fearnley and a long way behind his great rival Carlos Alcaraz, who is in 25th position in the rankings, compiled over the last 52 weeks.
The list is led by Argentina’s Sebastian Baez, who has a first serve percentage of 71.7 per cent, with Alcaraz at 64.1 per cent and Sinner at just 60.6 per cent.
Novak Djokovic rates highly in this list, with the 24-time Grand Slam champion in tenth place with 66.5 per cent and arguably the most impressive statistic among the game’s elite players comes from Alexander Zverev, with the world No 3 landing his big serve at an impressive rate of 71.2 per cent, which is an impressive number given the power he strikes that shot with.
Sinner’s statistics look a little more impressive when it comes to first serve points won, as he is third with 78.9 per cent in a list led by America’s Taylor Fritz, who has won 79.4 percent of the points when he has landed his first serve.
After his US Open final defeat against Alcaraz, Sinner hinted he was keen to make improvements on his serve and that relatively low first serve percentage may be the area he looks to target.
“I can say that I’m gonna become a better tennis player and I’m gonna change a couple of things on the serve, just small things, but, they can make big differences and then we see how it goes,“ said Sinner.
“You know, I’m looking forward to play these matches again, something new is now that I’m not number one anymore so you know, this also changes a little bit that you. You chase, it’s different.”
“He retooled the serve with Darren [Cahill] and that’s something very, very difficult to do,” Rusedski told ATPTour.com.
“I’ve been super impressed; the whole team has done a fantastic job with him. And it all started with making a change to the serve, the body, transitioning, adding slice and adding things.
“They’re still not 100 per cent natural, but they’re only going to get better with time because he’s one of those guys who is going to put in the work.
“He got himself in better shape because he’s gotten a little bit leaner. He’s willing to add in a slice once in a while, transition forward. It’s just a mindset.
“There’s no real weakness on each side. And I think the more comfortable he gets with transitioning forward with the firepower he has from the back that his shot selection has improved.
“I think you put him in the mix now as one of the guys who you think is next to win a Slam. If you take one player who in 2024, you think has got a real shot to make a final or win one, his name is number one on the list right now.”
One area Sinner, Alcaraz and Djokovic are excelling in is in second service statistics, with the ‘Big 3’ in men’s tennis topping the list in this statistic.
Sinner leads this race after winning 59.6 percent of his second serve points, with Alcaraz next in the list on 57.3 percent and Djokovic at 55.9 percent.
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