ATP · Left-handed · 66 charted matches · 1978–1992
John Mcenroe
Archetype: Serve-and-volleyer · Net rusher
Against an average opponent
Serve and return points won, refitted against every opponent at once so a record built on weak or strong opposition is put on the same scale. Career, all surfaces, with a 90% margin. Raw is the plain share of points won.
Value per 100 shots
Points gained per 100 shots compared with an average tour player in the same position, adjusted for the strength of the opponents faced, with a 90% margin (shots clustered by match). Raw is before the opponent adjustment. Built on 28,332 shots.
Shot expected value
The share of points John Mcenroe goes on to win after each option in the positions they face most often, shrunk toward tour average when the sample is small. Showing the 8 most-used options; teal marks the best one with at least 30 shots.
Rally, shots 5–8: drive to your backhand side
position worth 46% to the average player · 817 shots
| Option | Used | Win % | Tour |
|---|---|---|---|
| BH crosscourt | 18% | 48.5%±6.4 | 47.6% |
| BH through the middle | 17% | 42.5%±6.5 | 43.7% |
| BH slice crosscourt | 16% | 49.7%±6.8 | 42.5% |
| BH slice through the middle | 14% | 37.9%±6.9 | 35.1% |
| BH slice down the line | 13% | 32.6%±6.9 | 37.1% |
| BH down the line | 10% | 39.5%±8.0 | 46.4% |
| BH slice down the line + approach | 4% | 53.3%±11.4 | 48.6% |
| BH down the line + approach | 2% | 45.6%±13.0 | 66.2% |
Return +1: drive to your backhand side
position worth 44% to the average player · 601 shots
| Option | Used | Win % | Tour |
|---|---|---|---|
| BH through the middle | 18% | 40.5%±7.1 | 43.0% |
| BH slice through the middle | 18% | 37.7%±7.1 | 32.6% |
| BH crosscourt | 17% | 46.2%±7.5 | 46.9% |
| BH slice crosscourt | 15% | 38.9%±7.6 | 40.9% |
| BH slice down the line | 14% | 39.3%±7.8 | 33.3% |
| BH down the line | 10% | 31.8%±8.7 | 44.2% |
| BH slice down the line + approach | 2% | 53.3%±13.9 | 48.3% |
| BH down the line + approach | 2% | 59.5%±14.1 | 63.2% |
Serve +1: short return to your middle, you at net
position worth 54% to the average player · 547 shots
| Option | Used | Win % | Tour |
|---|---|---|---|
| FH volley crosscourt | 26% | 58.1%±6.3 | 61.3% |
| FH volley down the line | 16% | 55.6%±7.9 | 55.4% |
| BH volley down the line | 14% | 57.7%±8.2 | 50.8% |
| FH volley through the middle | 14% | 39.1%±8.1 | 36.5% |
| BH volley through the middle | 13% | 35.2%±8.3 | 36.6% |
| BH volley crosscourt | 12% | 60.8%±8.7 | 56.5% |
| FH crosscourt | 3% | 80.2%±10.9 | 79.4% |
Serve +1: drive to your middle, you at net
position worth 61% to the average player · 538 shots
| Option | Used | Win % | Tour |
|---|---|---|---|
| FH volley crosscourt | 25% | 59.6%±6.5 | 68.7% |
| FH volley down the line | 23% | 63.0%±6.6 | 63.8% |
| BH volley crosscourt | 19% | 55.3%±7.3 | 62.9% |
| BH volley down the line | 17% | 52.9%±7.8 | 58.4% |
| BH volley through the middle | 7% | 42.7%±10.5 | 43.2% |
| FH volley through the middle | 7% | 43.9%±10.5 | 46.6% |
Serve under pressure
Pressure predictability index −1 How much less varied John Mcenroe's first-serve direction gets on break points. Positive means easier to read. Based on 594 break-point first serves.
Deuce court
| 1st serve | Usage | Break pt | Won when in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wide | 43% | 46% | 75% / 73% |
| Body | 17% | 16% | 64% / 63% |
| T | 40% | 38% | 69% / 75% |
3,419 normal · 158 break-point 1st serves
Ad court
| 1st serve | Usage | Break pt | Won when in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wide | 52% | 54% | 74% / 73% |
| Body | 10% | 11% | 64% / 63% |
| T | 39% | 35% | 78% / 72% |
2,822 normal · 436 break-point 1st serves
Is the serve mix in equilibrium?
Game theory says a well-mixed server wins equally often with every direction they use. If one direction wins more, it's underused and points are being left behind. This is the minimax test Walker and Wooders ran on Wimbledon finals, applied to every charted first serve. Win rates include faults. "Optimal" allows for returners reading a habit. No measurable response (−0.05 ± 0.15 points per 100 serves for every 10 points of habitual usage), measured from ATP servers whose mix drifted between matches. Shifts stay within the range servers' habits actually vary, the only range that response was measured over.
Deuce court
| 1st serve | Usage | Points won | Optimal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wide | 43% | 61.7%±2.0 n=1,526 | 50% ▲ |
| Body | 17% | 63.3%±3.1 n=624 | 4% ▼ |
| T | 40% | 61.6%±2.1 n=1,427 | 46% ▲ |
Consistent with an optimal mix (p = 0.71).
Optimal mix: +0.1 per 100 first serves.
Ad court
| 1st serve | Usage | Points won | Optimal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wide | 52% | 65.3%±1.9 n=1,695 | 60% ▲ |
| Body | 10% | 61.1%±4.3 n=321 | 0% ▼ |
| T | 38% | 65.5%±2.2 n=1,242 | 40% ▲ |
Consistent with an optimal mix (p = 0.24).
Optimal mix: +0.6 per 100 first serves.
Exploitability 0.30 points per 100 first serves What the optimal mix would win over the current one, both courts. More exploitable than 100% of ATP servers. Tested on matches they weren't fitted on, ATP mixes picked this way win 0.33 per 100 first serves on average.
Repeating the previous direction to the same court: −0.4±1.6 points per 100 against switching. Negative means returners read repeats. Tour-wide, repeating costs women about 0.4 points per 100 and costs men nothing, so men's returners don't measurably anticipate direction. (2,615 repeats, 4,088 switches.)
Return by serve direction
Return points won against each serve direction, compared with the tour average.
| Serve | Court | Direction | Points | Won | vs tour | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Ad court | Body | 295 | 35% | −1.6±4.4 | |
| 1st | Ad court | T | 961 | 28% | −0.3±2.3 | |
| 1st | Ad court | Wide | 679 | 31% | +4.1±2.9 | |
| 1st | Deuce court | Body | 216 | 37% | +0.7±5.1 | |
| 1st | Deuce court | T | 822 | 28% | +2.9±2.5 | |
| 1st | Deuce court | Wide | 1,086 | 30% | +2.6±2.3 | |
| 2nd | Ad court | Body | 475 | 49% | −0.5±3.7 | |
| 2nd | Ad court | T | 546 | 48% | −1.1±3.4 | |
| 2nd | Ad court | Wide | 266 | 48% | +0.1±4.8 | |
| 2nd | Deuce court | Body | 446 | 44% | −5.4±3.7 | |
| 2nd | Deuce court | T | 206 | 43% | −6.9±5.3 | |
| 2nd | Deuce court | Wide | 712 | 45% | −3.0±3.0 |
Signature patterns
Recurring sequences that win more than John Mcenroe's own baseline, ranked by edge weighted by how often they're used.
Serve → +1
- Wide serve (ad court) → BH volley crosscourt used 3.0% · won 71% · +3.9±5.0 vs own baseline
- Wide serve (deuce court) → FH volley crosscourt used 2.3% · won 71% · +3.8±5.6 vs own baseline
- T serve (deuce court) → FH volley crosscourt used 2.9% · won 65% · −2.2±5.4 vs own baseline
- Wide serve (ad court) → FH volley down the line used 4.1% · won 64% · −3.6±4.6 vs own baseline
- Body serve (deuce court) → FH volley crosscourt used 2.6% · won 61% · −6.0±5.8 vs own baseline
Return
- vs wide serve (ad court) → FH crosscourt, mid used 2.5% · won 53% · +16.5±6.4 vs own baseline
- vs wide serve (deuce court) → BH through the middle, short used 2.1% · won 45% · +7.9±6.9 vs own baseline
- vs T serve (deuce court) → FH through the middle, short used 2.4% · won 43% · +6.9±6.5 vs own baseline
- vs T serve (ad court) → BH through the middle, mid used 2.1% · won 41% · +4.1±6.8 vs own baseline
- vs T serve (deuce court) → FH through the middle, mid used 2.4% · won 40% · +3.0±6.4 vs own baseline
Rally, consecutive own shots
- FH crosscourt → FH crosscourt used 2.4% · won 55% · +10.8±8.1 vs own baseline
- FH through the middle → FH crosscourt used 1.0% · won 55% · +11.4±10.6 vs own baseline
- FH crosscourt → BH crosscourt used 3.6% · won 49% · +5.2±6.9 vs own baseline
- BH through the middle → BH crosscourt used 1.7% · won 50% · +6.4±9.2 vs own baseline
- BH crosscourt → FH crosscourt used 2.4% · won 48% · +4.4±8.1 vs own baseline
Discovered sequences
Mined from every me → opponent → me run of three shots, with no templates. Ranked by how much more often John Mcenroe wins the point once the sequence happens, weighted by how often it happens. Think of them as chess openings.
- FH volley down the line → FH down the line → FH volley crosscourt used 0.3% · won 72% · +23.5±10.2 vs own baseline · +16.7 vs tour on the same sequence Disrupted by Ivan Lendl (11/11)
- Wide serve → FH through the middle return, mid → FH volley crosscourt used 0.2% · won 69% · +20.7±11.3 vs own baseline · +26.4 vs tour on the same sequence Disrupted by Ivan Lendl (10/11)
- Wide serve → BH through the middle return, mid → FH volley down the line used 0.4% · won 64% · +15.6±10.4 vs own baseline · +14.2 vs tour on the same sequence Disrupted by Ivan Lendl (14/16)
- T serve → BH slice through the middle return, short → FH volley crosscourt used 0.3% · won 64% · +16.0±10.8 vs own baseline · +5.4 vs tour on the same sequence Disrupted by Ivan Lendl (9/13)
- Wide serve → BH slice crosscourt return, short → FH volley down the line used 0.3% · won 62% · +13.5±11.7 vs own baseline · +3.5 vs tour on the same sequence Disrupted by Ivan Lendl (12/16)
- T serve → BH through the middle return → BH volley down the line used 0.2% · won 62% · +14.1±11.9 vs own baseline · +19.8 vs tour on the same sequence
Strengths and vulnerabilities
Value per 100 shots compared with the average player hitting (strengths) or facing (vulnerabilities) the same shot. Only shot types seen at least 120 times.
Hurts opponents most with
| BH volley to their forehand · rally | +10.4 | 173 |
| FH to their backhand · return | +6.4 | 769 |
| BH slice to their forehand · return +1 | +4.3 | 143 |
| BH to their forehand · return | +3.6 | 446 |
| FH volley to their backhand · rally | +3.5 | 173 |
Most exposed to
| FH volley to their backhand · rally | −8.2 | 157 |
| BH volley to their forehand · rally | −7.5 | 158 |
| FH to their backhand · return +1 | −6.5 | 337 |
| FH to their backhand · return | −3.9 | 559 |
| BH slice to their forehand · return | −3.7 | 190 |
Active players who are best at the shot in the top weakness: Rafael Nadal, Denis Shapovalov, Casper Ruud, Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic
Tactical fingerprint
Each bar shows how far a style trait is from the ATP average, in standard deviations.
| Points at net | 34% | |
| Serve & volley | 74% | |
| BH down the line | 31% | |
| Point-ending shots | 33.6% | |
| Backhand slice | 39% | |
| Wide serves · ad | 52% | |
| Through the middle | 25% | |
| Unforced errors / shot | 10.2% | |
| Chipped returns | 15% | |
| Wide serves · deuce | 43% | |
| T serves · ad | 38% | |
| FH down the line | 30% | |
| Drop shots / shot | 0.8% | |
| T serves · deuce | 40% | |
| 1st serve in | 58% | |
| Run-around forehands | 6% | |
| Avg rally length | 3.2 | |
| Deep returns | 17% | |
| Forehand share | 44% |
Plays most like
- Pat Cash 1984–1992 plan v
- David Wheaton 1990–1994 plan v
- Boris Becker 1985–1999 plan v
- Michael Stich 1990–1997 plan v
- Stefan Edberg 1985–2012 plan v
- Todd Martin 1992–2001 plan v
- Max Mirnyi 2001–2006 plan v
- Mischa Zverev 2013–2020 plan v
Closest from another era
- Max Mirnyi 2001–2006
- Mischa Zverev 2013–2020
- Tim Henman 1995–2006
Charted matches
- John Mcenroe v Andre Agassi L Wimbledon SF · Grass · 4 Jul 1992
- Guy Forget v John Mcenroe W Wimbledon QF · Grass · 1 Jul 1992
- John Mcenroe v Pat Cash W Wimbledon R64 · Grass · 25 Jun 1992
- John Mcenroe v Wayne Ferreira Australian Open QF · Hard · 22 Jan 1992
- John Mcenroe v Boris Becker W Australian Open R32 · Hard · 17 Jan 1992
- John Mcenroe v Michael Chang L US Open R32 · Hard · 30 Aug 1991
- John Mcenroe v Goran Ivanisevic L New Haven QF · Hard · 16 Aug 1991
- John Mcenroe v Stefan Edberg L Wimbledon R16 · Grass · 2 Jul 1991
- John Mcenroe v Andrei Cherkasov L Roland Garros R128 · Clay · 27 May 1991
- John Mcenroe v Pete Sampras L Philadelphia SF · Hard · 16 Feb 1991
- John Mcenroe v Goran Ivanisevic W Basel F · Hard · 30 Sep 1990
- John Mcenroe v Pete Sampras L US Open SF · Hard · 8 Sep 1990