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The Tennis Stats Glossary: Every Metric Explained

From hold % and break points saved to dominance ratio and clutch index — a plain-English glossary of every tennis statistic that matters.

A quick-reference glossary for the tennis stats you'll see in Tennis Log and across pro broadcasts.

Service stats

  • First-serve %: first serves in ÷ total service points
  • First-serve points won %: points won when first serve goes in
  • Second-serve points won %: points won on the second serve
  • Aces: serves the returner doesn't touch
  • Double faults: two consecutive serve faults
  • Hold %: service games won ÷ service games played
  • Break points saved %: BPs faced that did not result in a break

Return stats

  • Return points won %: total points won when receiving
  • Break %: opponent service games broken ÷ opponent service games
  • Break points converted %: BPs you had that became breaks

Rally and shot stats

  • Winners: shots that win the point with no opponent touch (other than serve return)
  • Unforced errors: errors not caused by opponent pressure
  • Forced errors: errors caused by an aggressive opponent shot
  • Winner-to-error ratio: winners ÷ unforced errors. Above 1.0 is excellent for amateurs

Composite stats

  • Dominance ratio: return points won % ÷ opponent's return points won %. Above 1.0 = you played the bigger match
  • Clutch index: win % on break points and tiebreak points combined
  • Serve+1 win %: points won on the shot after your serve

Match-context stats

  • Tiebreak record: tiebreaks won ÷ played
  • Decider record: 3rd-set (or 5th-set) record
  • Comeback rate: matches won after losing the first set

Bookmark this page — every metric here appears somewhere in your Stats and Insights tabs.