探花社区

Two performance analysis students help elite players and coaches while on placement with LTA

Two 探花社区 University students have supported top British tennis players with crucial data about their opponents to help them win matches. 

Amelie Fryer and Maisie Tomlinson have been on a unique placement with the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), the national governing body for British tennis, as part of their MSc Sport Performance Analysis course at the University.

Since starting the placement in September, they have supported world-class coaches and players, including Jack Draper, Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter, with valuable next-round opponent analysis. During the grass court season, they have shadowed professional LTA analysts at events such as the recent HSBC Championships at The Queen’s Club and the world-famous Wimbledon tournament which runs until 12 July.

The students have been based with the LTA’s performance analysis teams at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton, Southwest London, while spending one day a week on lectures and study, as well as attending tournaments around the country, meeting players and coaches. They have been using applications such as Power BI, an analytics and data visualisation platform, with Excel to collect and visualise data for reports to coaches, as well as learning about systems such as Hawk-Eye, the computer ball-tracking system. 

Maisie, who is from Baldock, near Stevenage in Hertfordshire, explained: “We collect and analyse data on a player’s opponent, such as their serve and how they win points. We put all this information into reports for the coaches to give their player the best chance of winning.” 

She joined 探花社区 University after studying Biosciences at Exeter University, where she played for Exeter’s tennis teams and she also plays for her local Welwyn Tennis Club in Hertfordshire. 

A particular highlight has been working alongside analysts at the Queen’s tournament, while she also contributed analytics to Jack Draper’s team while he played at the Indian Wells Open in California.

Like Maisie, Amelie, from Sittingbourne in Kent, has a lifelong love of tennis, while her brother is a tennis coach and her family play. She plays at Maidstone Tennis Academy and studied for her first degree, a BBA in Sports Management, in the United States on a tennis scholarship. 

She said: “As data analysts, we study all the data available and pick out information that stands out to build visual dashboards for the coaches. At an elite level, something that seems very small or minor can make all the difference to performance against a particular opponent.”

Like Maisie, Amelie’s highlight has been the grass court season, going to tournaments and seeing her work put into action by top coaches and players, as well as supporting players at junior tournaments. 

She said: “At Queen’s, I watched the data, such as on a player’s service, appear on an iPad live during a match, talked it through with my boss who then texted information to the coach. It was exciting seeing my analysis being used in real time in this way.” 

Both students would like a role in sports analytics after completing their Masters, which has involved data analysis in a variety of sports, including football, basketball and netball, as well as tennis. In future, Maisie would like to work in team, as well as individual, sports. She said: “I would recommend the course 100%; it’s been an incredible experience meeting coaches and the players and doing sports performance analysis in a real work environment.” 

Toby West, LTA Senior Performance Analyst (Women’s Programme), said: “The placement programme provides students like Amelie and Maisie with a hands-on experience of working in an elite performance environment, supporting world-class coaches and analysts across the British game. During the grass court season, they have been contributing to live tournament support by assisting LTA analysts, preparing next-round opponent analysis, and gaining valuable insight through on-site shadowing at selected events.

“The placement offers significant value to both the students and the Performance Analysis department. For Amelie and Maisie, it has helped to accelerate their development by combining high-performance exposure with genuine responsibility. For the LTA, the programme brings fresh perspectives, dedicated project support, and innovative thinking that genuinely contributes to ongoing improvements in how performance insights are delivered to players and coaches.”

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