Server advantage in tennis matches
Iain MacPhee, Jonathan Rougier, and G. H. Pollard
Source: J. Appl. Probab.
Volume 41, Number 4
(2004), 1182-1186.
Abstract
We show that the advantage that can accrue to the server in tennis
does not necessarily imply that serving first changes the
probability of winning the match. We demonstrate that the outcome
of tie-breaks, sets and matches can be independent of who serves
first. These are corollaries of a more general invariance result
that we prove for n-point win-by-2 games. Our proofs are
non-algebraic and self-contained.
Primary Subjects: 91A60, 91A05
Secondary Subjects: 60J20
Keywords: Tennis; tie-break; n-point win-by-k games
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Links and Identifiers
Permanent link to this document: http://projecteuclid.org/euclid.jap/1101840562
Digital Object Identifier: doi:10.1239/jap/1101840562
Mathematical Reviews number (MathSciNet):
MR2122811
Zentralblatt MATH identifier:
02151065
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