Novel algorithm can predict the next shot played in tennis

Scientists say they have created an algorithm that can predict where a tennis player will hit the next ball by analysing data of thousands of shots played by Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in Australian Open.

The finding by researchers at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Australia could lead to new ways for professional tennis players to predict their opponent's moves.

The algorithm called Semi Supervised Generative Adversarial Network architecture can also be used in virtual reality games, offering people the chance to go head-to-head with world's best players in an accurate but artificial grand slam.

The researchers created the algorithm using Hawk-Eye data from the 2012 Australian Tennis Open, provided by Tennis Australia.

They narrowed their focus to study just the shot selection of Djokovic, Nadal and Federer because they had the complete data to input into the system on how the players' shot selection changed as the tournament progressed.

The ...