How our data analytics trailblazers are fending off the competition | 12 December, 2024 | All News | News and Features | News and Events [Video]

Melbourne, VIC, Australia, 12 December 2024 | Matt Trollope

Simon Rea’s mission in the data and analytics space is simple.

“We want our Australians to beat the rest of the world,” he explained on The AO Show Weekly podcast earlier this year.

Yet there are few things simple about the work itself, an exercise in data mining, interpretation and translating that Rea describes as “art meeting science”.

Not all players connect with data-driven insights, and not all coaches work in the same way with the richness of data available to them. Rea and his team must determine exactly what’s required to maximise value for players and coaches – which can help them beat their opponent across the net tomorrow, or better understand their own game as they refine it over time.

“Typically we’re dealing with the coach, who’s then providing an additional layer of filtering before that info gets to the player. I think the first cab off the rank (for us) is to have …