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Wearables are a key part of Medvedev's quest for development

Learn about the role of innovation within Team Medvedev

November 14, 2024

Daniil Medvedev stands 6'6”, but he doesn't move like a player that tall. His inclusion on the court helped him rise to No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings in 2022.

A lot more goes into that than hard work. Gilles Cervara and the rest of Medvedev's team are looking at all available data using wearables to push the boundaries of how well they can prepare the 28-year-old.

“It all started in 2020 when we had a plan to improve Danil's preparations. One of my teammates was from other sports, especially rugby and soccer, so he had knowledge about GPS,” Cervara told ATPTour.com, talking about wearables. “He gave us the idea to use it when we practice because at that time we would not be able to use it in the matches so that we could have the numbers of our different practices and compare them with the matches.

“In the games we didn't have GPS numbers, we couldn't, but we did our own analysis to have numbers for different movements. Then from that analysis, we put the GPS during practice, during sets or matches when we practice, so we have numbers to compare.”

The idea was to create what Cervara called a “worst case scenario”. What difficult situation would Medvedev face in court? In that case, how many times would he have to change? How many times would he need to run? At what speed?

“From there we developed our own habits to push him to the limit and it became a focus,” Cervara said. “We [know if we] we have worked hard enough or we have not worked hard enough to achieve our goals. [We look at the] the numbers we need to reach to achieve the same [output] like a Grand Slam match.”

According to Cervara, the 2019 ATP Coach of the Year, it is not only the physical side of performance, but everything that develops in the extended game.

“The worst case scenario would be to play for five hours or five and a half hours,” Cervara said. “That's what he experienced against Nadal, against many players. And in those games we need to know how many sprints or direction changes.

Before the wearables were discovered, Cervara took about 10 hours to perform a similar analysis of the matches. It is now much easier for Cervara to learn about his player's efforts and improve habits to reach peak performance.

“[We know] if we want him to prepare for this type of games, we must do this, this and this during training, so let's create those habits,” said Cervara. “We have created those habits and then after training, with GPS, we will check if he has done the running and change the way he should do during the game.

“What makes sure is, 'OK, when he's going to face a five-hour match against Sinner or before, Novak and Nadal, we need to make sure that he's successful during practice, that he's prepared for this'. And it's not just during the preseason. It's throughout the year, always.”

Without these new methods, Cervara said he would not be able to make accurate measurements. The Frenchman said it will be about feeling. He added: “We need exact numbers”.

Now, what is being worn is almost a daily part of Medvedev's style. Although the No. The former 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings does not use them in matches – despite the ATP rules allowing it – Cervara explained the importance of using them in training.

“You can say, 'Okay, this practice we did this number of shots, this number of uses. We do this intensity or this number of runners or this distance every day',” said Cervara. “If you use it every day for five years, you probably know immediately without GPS what it's going to be.”

ATP Chief Sports Officer Ross Hutchins he said: “As a Tour, we are committed to moving sports forward by innovating. That's why we introduced wearables, approved for competition earlier this year. It is important to provide players with tools aimed at improving their performance and avoiding injuries. We look forward to continuing to support them to gain insight and expand their careers.”

Cervara has made data from wearables key to his preparation because it allows him to know exactly what is going on with his player.

“It just gave me a clear idea of ​​what we do every day, a clear idea of ​​what Daniil can face on the field during games,” said Cervara. “It gives you a clear vision, it's objective and it's very helpful. That is the main thing. It is very helpful to do good practices to prepare the player to face the reality of the games.”