Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Power Index captures player’s fastest shots

The top
women’s tennis players in the world are more powerful than ever. Now, there’s a
way to measure it. The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour introduced the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour
Power Index, a new statistic designed to recognize the hardest-hitting, most
powerful players on Tour.

The Acura
Classic in

San Diego
was the first tournament to officially incorporate power index data, which will
be compiled from all center court matches at Sony Ericsson WTA Tour tournaments
included in the U.S. Open Series. The new statistic represents a totaled
analysis of a player’s fastest shots during a match including: first and second
serves, groundstroke (forehand or backhand), first and second-serve returns and
smash/volley. The final Power Index “score” is an average of all six individual
statistics.

“We’re
excited about the introduction of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Power Index and
think it’s another great way to recognize the extraordinary talent, athleticism
and sheer power of our top players,” said Stacey Allaster, President of the
Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. “Other leading professional sports have introduced new
methods to measure and compare the performance of their players to provide
another level of insight for fans. The power index affords that same
opportunity for women’s tennis.”

Implemented
using ball-tracking technology from Hawk-Eye Innovations, Ltd., the Sony
Ericsson WTA Tour Power Index monitors the play of select players on the Sony
Ericsson WTA Tour to deliver a unique perspective on their impressive power and
precision for fans.

“The Sony
Ericsson WTA Tour Power Index is another example of our efforts to apply technology
innovation that enhances the entertainment value of women’s tennis for our
fans,” said Dee Dutta, head of global marketing for Sony Ericsson. “For years,
the first serve has been the one concrete statistic players and fans could
point to as a measure of power. With the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Power Index,
there’s now a vehicle by which to recognize aggressive play in a more
comprehensive manner.”

The index
is reflective of a larger trend toward more advanced analysis in the sport of
tennis, enabled in part by “contextualization” technologies like those offered
by Hawk-Eye Technologies and Sony Ericsson. As new advancements are made, more
in-depth data on player and ball movement will be collected, including distance
run during a three-set match, total number of balls struck, and conversion
ratios of break points. For example, the Sony Ericsson W580 mobile phone
features a number of sport features including a pedometer that will be worn by Tour
players during practice sessions to track their speed, calories burned and
distance run on court. The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour plans to introduce more
contextualization-derived data over the course of the next few months.

The Sony
Ericsson WTA Tour will distribute the Sony Ericsson Power Index on a regular
basis following each tournament. It will also be accessible on an ongoing basis
at www.sonyericssonwtatour.com.