Category: Black Book

Posted on by

From the Archives: Hiring and Firing Your Coach

Hiring and firing your coach

First published May, 2023

One of the most controversial topics out there but also perhaps the most empowering, is putting the control back into the players and/or athletes hands to choose who they resonate with best and/or who they like to have on their team. Changing this perspective can be an incredibly rewarding experience for a player/athlete as the roles are somewhat flipped on their heads giving the player/athlete the power to really think about ‘who’ they’d consider as an invaluable additional to their playing future…

To read the full article please consider supporting my work through my new Book (pending release late 2024) that incorporates a variety of my writing — Dr Berge

To learn more about our data, predictive analytics and how to optimise your own performance, head on over to AM8 International. To learn more about AM8 International check out our selection of Books and/or options to join Dr B’s Pack to gain exclusive access to the best in the world. Not quite ready? Head on over to Beyond Top 10 Tennis for free access to 100+ episodes directly from Dr Berge of what it really takes to win multiple Grand Slams to securing that Top 10 tennis ranking with new episodes each week. More? Catch up on our Tips over on TikTok, Twitter, Threads or Instagram for quick snippets to apply in your game, today.

Posted on by

The Paris 2024 Olympics and 10 plus Years of making History

No one really expected the Paris 2024 Olympics to unfold as they did. But in all honesty, if you’ve been following and have a semi-reasonable grasp on technical metrics to how the data informs these outcomes, you’re equally not that surprised, either. But there are some seriously interesting outcomes that are worthy of discussion and where these lessons can be applied in your own game. The biggest one perhaps is that irrespective if you’re having a lengthy lull in your seasonal performances that does not mean a Gold medal is off the table.

Now if that isn’t something that perplexes the best in the world, I’m not sure anything will. The irony here is that despite the accolades that come with Grand Slam successes, the pinnacle of the sporting world is typically denoted with an Olympic medal – Gold, Silver or Bronze are perhaps equal weight to Championship wins in other sports, but for some reason this view shifts slightly across the tennis landscape…

To read the full article please consider supporting my work through my new Book (pending release late 2024) that incorporates a variety of my writing — Dr Berge

To learn more about our data, predictive analytics and how to optimise your own performance, head on over to AM8 International. To learn more about AM8 International check out our selection of Books and/or options to join Dr B’s Pack to gain exclusive access to the best in the world. Not quite ready? Head on over to Beyond Top 10 Tennis for free access to 100+ episodes directly from Dr Berge of what it really takes to win multiple Grand Slams to securing that Top 10 tennis ranking with new episodes each week. More? Join Dr Berge’s Newsletter on Substack, come say “hi” on Topicthread, BlueSky, X, YouTube or Instagram that may very well include quick snippets you can apply in your game, today, or even consider leaving a review on Amazon or Google.

Posted on by

The Top 8 of the Wimbledon Championships and how the Top 10 Tennis Rankings once again are not the whole Truth

It’s not too wild to share that the anticipated Wimbledon final 8 were not necessarily synonymous with current rankings and performance projections. After all, whilst 75% of WTA tour players were seeded and the remaining 25% surprise-packets, only 25% of these players collectively held a ranking inside the Top 10. On that merit, 75% of these players were not anticipated to progress to the Final 8 whereby simple dedication the Top 8 players should be left standing. But that rarely happens. And on this point alone is cause for concern — why a player’s ability to uphold their level of play throughout a given season is so problematic when they’re ranked inside the Top 10. The good news is that this isn’t always the case, but given 50% of Top 10 players prior to these Championships were not aligned with their respective ranking i.e. their level of play, this really underscores why only 25% of players were inside the Top 10 and when it came down to the Final 4, sure the respective 25% came through to make it look a little more substantial with 50% holding this key ranking range. Yet, the final delivered another 50% metric…

To read the full article please consider supporting my work through my new Book (pending release late 2024) that incorporates a variety of my writing — Dr Berge

To learn more about our data, predictive analytics and how to optimise your own performance, head on over to AM8 International. To learn more about AM8 International check out our selection of Books and/or options to join Dr B’s Pack to gain exclusive access to the best in the world. Not quite ready? Head on over to Beyond Top 10 Tennis for free access to 100+ episodes directly from Dr Berge of what it really takes to win multiple Grand Slams to securing that Top 10 tennis ranking with new episodes each week. More? Catch up on our Tips over on TikTok, Twitter, Threads or Instagram for quick snippets to apply in your game, today. 

Posted on by

Top 10 [Tennis] Rankings Corrections and how the 2024 Wimbledon Championships tightened the Top 5 Players on both the WTA and ATP tours

Over the past near 21 days the unfolding of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships has taken place from the lead up to the aftermath and with equally polarising results and yet still those players that are compounded by the data and how the past season has continued to unfold has been cause for a much needed realignment. A cautionary tale here is in respect to being mindful of the past season — 12 months until now, as if we only consider the current season and how the results have unfolded, then there’s a significant gap between the anticipated and what has more recently unfolded.

The beginning of the Championships noted the respective seedings take place on the Women’s and Men’s sides of the draw, as is typical, but what’s interesting here is in fact how the pending reshuffle of the rankings on both the WTA and ATP tours has been widely discussed on Beyond Top 10 Tennis this season with 50% of current Top 10 players not correlating with their ranking…

To read the full article please consider supporting my work through my new Book (pending release late 2024) that incorporates a variety of my writing — Dr Berge

To learn more about our data, predictive analytics and how to optimise your own performance, head on over to AM8 International. To learn more about AM8 International check out our selection of Books and/or options to join Dr B’s Pack to gain exclusive access to the best in the world. Not quite ready? Head on over to Beyond Top 10 Tennis for free access to 100+ episodes directly from Dr Berge of what it really takes to win multiple Grand Slams to securing that Top 10 tennis ranking with new episodes each week. More? Catch up on our Tips over on TikTok, Twitter, Threads or Instagram for quick snippets to apply in your game, today. 

Posted on by

The Final 8 of Roland Garros Explained, the Top 10 to Expectations, [TENNIS] Players in their Prime to who’s next in line for a Grand Slam

Last week we just touched the surface on essentially what we were really able to witness throughout the 2024 French Open with only a handful of players highlighted with so much more depth to come. As promised, this week it’s time to dive into a little more detail to really showcase the depth of the field and players that did not progress to the finals, however, still made an impressive appearance in the final eight. Needless to say, at the Grand Slam level it really is in part the luck of the draw that allows the eventual Champion to cross the line. That said, it is also incredibly clear that this 2024 French Open was not the case on the woman’s side of the draw with the eventual Champion within millimetres of bowing out in the 2nd Round due to her opponent and the quality of play demanded.

Swiatek entered Roland Garros as almost a clear favourite. It would be incredibly unfair not to have placed Sabalenka in the top two with the potential to claim her third Grand Slam. By all accounts, whilst this wasn’t the case and we know the outcome and what unfolded, Sabalenka was still incredibly close to progressing to the finals if her health was maintained…

To read the full article please consider supporting my work through my new Book (pending release late 2024) that incorporates a variety of my writing — Dr Berge

To learn more about our data, predictive analytics and how to optimise your own performance, head on over to AM8 International. To learn more about AM8 International check out our selection of Books and/or options to join Dr B’s Pack to gain exclusive access to the best in the world. Not quite ready? Head on over to Beyond Top 10 Tennis for free access to 100+ episodes directly from Dr Berge of what it really takes to win multiple Grand Slams to securing that Top 10 tennis ranking with new episodes each week. More? Catch up on our Tips over on TikTok, Twitter, Threads or Instagram for quick snippets to apply in your game, today.