SAME TOUR, DIFFERENT SEASONS: PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS IN ATP MASTERS 1000 TOURNAMENTS

The aim of this study was to compare the performance of professional tennis players at ATP Masters 1000 tournaments across four competitive seasons, in order to determine whether and to what extent match-play characteristics differ between years. Statistical data were retrieved from the official results archive of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). The final sample included 24 Masters 1000 tournaments, four competitive seasons, and 1,354 completed matches, yielding data for 2,708 players. Performance indicators were grouped into three domains: serve parameters, baseline-play parameters, and spatio-temporal parameters. To assess differences across seasons, a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was performed, followed by Tukey HSD post hoc tests. Results revealed statistically significant differences in serve-related variables (percentage of first serve points won and percentage of unreturned first serves), baseline-play parameters (excluding percentage of total points won), and spatio-temporal parameters (excluding number of games played and distance covered per point). Notably, the 2023 season demonstrated higher first serve efficiency and the most favorable winners to unforced errors ratio, while the 2022 season was characterized by the longest matches and highest frequency of unforced errors. In contrast, matches in 2019 were the shortest in duration but featured the longest rallies. Given that competitive performance varies between seasons, continuous monitoring and in-depth analyses are essential to better understand the demands of modern men’s tennis and to identify potential trends in its evolution.