Sport in Words
LightNews LightNews
sportinwords.bsky.social
Sport in Words
@sportinwords.bsky.social
1 followers 14 following 7 posts
Where analytical rigour meets storytelling. I’m a data analyst with CA and PhD credentials, covering tennis through systematic match analysis and visualisation.
Posts Replies Media Videos
sportinwords.bsky.social
Aged 40, ranked 157, 2014 Aus Open champ Stan Wawrinka has put on a strong display at the United Cup. He beat Rinderknech (27), pushed Cobolli (22), lost to Baez (43) & Bergs (42), and is giving Hurkacz (83) a run in the final. Aus Open wildcard a well justified farewell to a former champ. #tennis
January 11, 2026 at 11:01 AM
sportinwords.bsky.social
Australian Open qualifying commences tomorrow (12 January 2026). How have the successful qualifiers performed in recent years? Here's a quick summary.
#tennis #AustralianOpen
sportinwords.wordpress.com/2026/01/11/t...
The qualifier’s journey
Australian Open qualifying commences tomorrow (12 January 2026), with 128 men and 128 women contesting for one of sixteen qualifier spots in the main draw. Played to the best of three sets, a succe…
sportinwords.wordpress.com
January 11, 2026 at 8:40 AM
sportinwords.bsky.social
4 players in the Top 30 have better than 50% records against Top 10 opponents. The 4th player may surprise you. In a small sample of matches, Learner Tien has shown he can beat the best. Last year's Australian Open showed that. Who can beat Sinner and Alcaraz this year? #AustralianOpen #Tennis
The image is of a bar chart showing Top 30 players at 10/1/2026 and their win percentage against top 10 opponents. Four players have a better than 50% record - Djokovic 68.67%, Alcaraz 68.42%, Sinner 62.11%, and Tien 55.66%. Jakub Mensik is 5th at 50%. All other players are less than 50%.
January 10, 2026 at 3:55 AM
sportinwords.bsky.social
Fonseca, Mensik, Tien - Three of the teenagers from the 2025 Australian Open. Two were qualifiers. By the end of 2025 they were all inside the Top 50 and had won titles. All look likely to be seeded in 2026 (seedings yet to be announced). Article coming soon...
#tennis #AustralianOpen
Chart of ranking progressions of Fonseca, Mensik, and Tien compared to Djokovic and Alcaraz. The y-axis depicts ATP sport ranking and is truncated to start at a kings data sourced from atptour.con maximum value of 701. The x-axis depicts weeks since first ATP ranking. The x-axis is truncated and starts 61 weeks after initial ranking. Fonseca (99 weeks) and Mensik (89 weeks) broke into the Top 100 quicker than Alcaraz (133 weeks) and Djokovic (105 weeks). Fonseca (117 weeks), Mensik (116 weeks), and Tien (144 weeks) broke into the Top 50 quicker than Alcaraz (146 weeks) and Djokovic (154 weeks).
January 8, 2026 at 10:58 PM
sportinwords.bsky.social
16mm is a small margin. For Alex de Minaur it was the difference between winning and losing the Washington final in 2025. Relive that dramatic tenth game of the third set and the complete story of the final. #tennis
sportinwords.wordpress.com/2025/07/29/d...
De Minaur displays resilience against Davidovich Fokina in dramatic final
Tennis is a binary sport – the ball is in or out, there are no ties, a shot is a winner or an error, and ultimately there will always be a winner and a loser. Both Alex De Minaur and Alejandr…
sportinwords.wordpress.com
January 7, 2026 at 3:52 AM
sportinwords.bsky.social
We focus a lot on big wins and the stories of Alcaraz, Sinner and the other elites. But what about the rest? Conor Niland's book takes you into the life of the other 99% on tour. An enlightening and captivating first hand account of tour life that may change your perception of the sport. #tennis
January 6, 2026 at 12:23 PM