Gender Differences in Serve Performance of Professional Tennis Players in the Four Grand Slam Tournaments

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyze gender differences in professional tennis players' serve technical and tactical performance and to explore serve characteristics across court surfaces. It used data from 255 Grand Slam final matches (2019-2023) involving 123 players (57 male, 66 female), employing cluster analysis and one-way ANOVA. Conclusions: In service point winning percentage, men outperformed women in overall, first-serve, and deuce/advantage court wide/inside placement percentages; second-serve advantage was limited to men at the AO, with men leading in body serve percentage only at the RG and US Open. Men dominated in total and first-serve aces (no second-serve difference), with variations by court (e.g., deuce court aces except WD, advantage court consistently male-led). In serve placements, men led in specific wide positions, women in most body placements, and men in inside placements (notably RG/US Open). These gender-specific traits support strategy, training, and match decisions, with future research needed on tactical applications.