How the use of real-time data on iPads could change the face of women's tennis
New WTA rule that comes into effect in 2015 allows coaches to give their players tips on-court using real-time data provided by SAP
A new Women's Tennis Association (WTA) rule has enabled SAP to provide coaches with the ability to direct their players during matches using real-time data.
"For 2015, our board has agreed to amend our on-court coaching rule; the amendment will allow WTA-authorised devices to go on court during the coaching break," Stacey Allaster, CEO and chairman of the WTA told the media in Singapore, where the WTA finals have been taking place this week.
It means that coaches will now be able to use a range of authorised Android, iOS and other smartphone and tablet devices in order to tap into match data, using an application that SAP claims will be "device agnostic".
On-court coaching was originally introduced by the WTA in 2008 as a broadcasting initiative offering fans greater insight into match strategy.
Currently, WTA players and coaches receive post-match point-by-point analysis from SAP that allows them to analyse performances. SAP worked with the WTA in order to identify what information was essential to create an analytics solution using SAP Hana that would benefit all coaches and players.
Allaster says that it was solely the players' decision whether they wanted to take-up the use of the application and on-court coaching using tablet devices, but adds that about 70 per cent of WTA players currently use on-court coaching as it stands. But even those players without coaches can use the devices and data on changeovers.
"I have a lot of confidence that they will want to use it," Allaster says.
Allaster claims that the use of tablet devices with the SAP application will provide the same kind of enhancement as that made by the electronic line judge, which was first introduced in the 1970s.
She suggests that tennis has been slow to take up new technology, but says that it is now a sport that is "rich in data".
"With SAP's statistical and analytical insights, they are ultimately going to improve the competitive edge of our athletes," she says.
Allaster says that it is no different from the way McLaren uses SAP HANA analytics to give the driver an edge in F1 races.
Jenni Lewis, head of tennis technology at SAP, explains that not all of the 54 WTA tournaments will be tracked, but that certain basic information will be incorporated from all matches, including data from the umpires' scoring devices.
The first release of the SAP application will focus on the matches themselves, so players and coaches can see what has just happened, but Lewis says that because of big data this will soon be improved as SAP has data from every single WTA match since 2008.
"Imagine the ability of not only being able to see what is happening in a match that is being played but in all situations; the ability to get a broader understanding that this is an unusual trend, rather than just a match trend," she says.
When SAP moves on to its second release involving tracked courts, then it will be able to show coaches the patterns of play. This is dependent on how many matches the WTA can get broadcast - any match that is broadcast will be tracked.
Real-time data
According to Lewis, coaches are most interested in receiving situational information.
"We're working on being able to see break-points, getting a summary of where players serve on every break-point and things like being able to see where a player is positioned," Lewis explains.
Other capabilities that SAP is working on include a heat map, which will be able to show the most successful area of the court that the player returns shots from, and being able to remove balls that aren't relevant - an option that may be left open to coaches who can decide which information they want to display and use.
How the use of real-time data on iPads could change the face of women's tennis
New WTA rule that comes into effect in 2015 allows coaches to give their players tips on-court using real-time data provided by SAP
There will, however, be a slight delay between an action and the coach being able to receive the data, but Lewis emphasises that this is not because of any technology constraints but in order to ensure the application adheres to the rules of play, as well as to deter the use of the application for betting purposes.
"We want to allow the player to challenge a ball, we certainly don't want to tell anyone whether the ball is in our out, so we will respectfully take out 15 seconds delay to let the player make a decision and then we'll share that information to her coach in real-time," Lewis says.
But fans who download the SAP application only get certain elements of the data anyway, as the playing community will be given data such as the clustering of balls.
"We can show them enhanced images of where certain things are successful; to know whether the player is stepping in is working or not," Lewis adds.
As well as a competitive edge, both Allaster and Lewis say that the technology will also be used in a bid to ensure athletes remain healthy.
Lewis states that SAP is looking into how it can learn from data created by a rookie who has later transitioned into a full-time WTA player.
"There has to be a lot of rich data that can help us to map that story out, so they have long healthy careers," she says.
But tennis professionals and fans aren't the only ones for whom the WTA wants to provide data. It will also be shared with media organisations, giving them more information to share on social media sites such as Twitter, as well as to create articles based on statistics from the application.
Back story
In June, at SAP Sapphire in Orlando, Allaster told Computing that in its search for a technology partner, the WTA wanted a firm that could transform the business, and that wanted to make a difference in the sport.
The two organisations signed an official five-year contract in August 2013 on the back of a global sponsorship deal that they had prior to that. Allaster suggested that other companies had pitched technologies to the WTA too.
In the lead-up to the deal being signed, SAP and the WTA had worked together in planning what kind of application they wanted for the fans, players and coaches.
The WTA had also been a customer of SAP's from a database perspective, and Lewis told Computing at SAP Sapphire that the organisation was migrating from Sybase to HANA and then into the cloud.
"So from a technology standpoint, the WTA had been a customer for a long time, but the analytics piece was missing," she said.
Prior to using SAP, Lewis claimed that WTA coaches were using "very manual processes" - essentially watching matches and taking notes.
"They could potentially miss insight, so we're simplifying it for them," she said.
And she also claimed that coaches at the Grand Slams, where SAP does not track matches, are asking for data from SAP to use for their forthcoming matches.
"We will roll out a fully self-service environment for them in the second half of this year, so they don't have to come to me to ask me to look up anything," she says.
Lewis says that there is not any other vendor that is in the "full season space" but acknowledged that there are companies in the Grand Slams that do provide analytics, notably IBM.
"We don't believe they are going to the same level we are going to, they don't have access to the same information," she says.