Sports Performance Measurement and Analytics: The Science of Assessing Performance, Predicting Future Outcomes, Interpreting Statistical Models, and Evaluating the Market Value of Athletes

Preface

“Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.”

—MUHAMMAD ALI

I have played sports my entire life. I began playing the sport of tennis at the age of thirteen, too late in the eyes of many tennis experts to become a top professional tennis player. I trained six hours a day from the first day that I won a match against a boy at a neighborhood tennis court. In an instant, I was addicted to the sport.

I dreamed of becoming a professional tennis player. I spent countless ...