This surprising Rafael Nadal’s forehand stat in Monte-Carlo will blow your mind

This surprising Rafael Nadal’s forehand stat in Monte-Carlo will blow your mind

Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal is the ultimate symbol of machoism. Big bulging biceps, thighs built like tree trunks, running from side to side chasing every ball down. It’s hard to imagine that there could be another tennis player who could play this physical brand of tennis. 

And what about his forehand? It is maybe the most brutal weapon that Nadal has, comparable to the ‘hammer of Thor’. The forehand that Nadal hits has to be the fastest, the deepest, one with the most spin on it but it is not. Maybe all of us have been looking but not watching. 

YouTube video

The full story of the Rafael Nadal forehand

Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal

An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of 12 Monte-Carlo matches from 2017-2019 compares Nadal’s forehand to his opponents. The statistics  show that  opponents have bigger numbers than we would have liked to believe.

FS Video

The twelve matches in the data set are below. Nadal won 11 and lost one.

1. 2019 SF – l. Fabio Fognini 6-4, 6-2

2. 2019 QF – def. Guido Pella 7-6(1), 6-3

3. 2019 R16 – def. Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-1

4. 2019 R32 – def. Roberto Bautista Agut 6-1, 6-1

5. 2018 F – def. Kei Nishikori 6-3, 6-2

6. 2018 SF – def. Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-1

7. 2018 QF – def. Dominic Thiem 6-0, 6-2

8. 2018 R16 – def. Karen Khachanov 6-3, 6-2

9. 2017 SF – def. David Goffin 6-3, 6-1

10. 2017 QF – def. Diego Schwartzman 6-4, 6-4

11. 2017 R16 – def. Alexander Zverev 6-1, 6-11

12. 2017 R32 – def. Kyle Edmund 6-0, 5-7, 6-3

In these twelve matches that have been used as data sets, Rafael Nadal has hit fewer forehands than his opponents. Nadal has hit a total of 1493 forehands and his opponents 1546. If we go into forehand speed, Nadal’s average speed is 122.9km/hr compared to his opponents 124.9km/hr. In the ratio of forehand to backhand, Nadal has used forehand 59% of the times and backhand 41% of the times, and his opponents have used forehand 58% of the times and backhand 48% of the times.

Nadal hits 23% of his forehand rallies inside the baseline which is higher than 18%, his opponents number. Nadal’s topspin heavy forehand forces his opponents to make better contact, but it is not as is believed. Nadal makes an average contact of 1.05 m compared to his opponents who make a contact of 1.17 m. Its amply clear from this study that Nadal’s forehand is not as potent or dangerous as it appears, but undeniably still a great weapon to have in your arsenal. 

Also Read: ‘He doesn’t have to ask me anything, he’s my uncle’: Rafael Nadal on uncle Toni’s new coaching role