A vacation-edition mailbag so let’s rip through some Q&As …
So I was sitting at my desk last week when an email came across the blower. Subject: “Survey shows: 71% of US Tennis Players Think They Could Win Against Pros.” O.K., I’m opening. This was “the findings of a survey we did over at Action Network.” Clearly this was not a rigorous, peer-review academic study. (Note the credibility-undermining phrase “over at.”) But neither was this a sample size of six guys at a bar. There were 2,043 respondents and among the findings:
- Almost three out of four American tennis players think they could win a game against a professional player in a best-of-three-set match.
- Women are more optimistic than men. 71% of female recreational players believe they could win a game against a professional.
- 81% of players aged between 18 and 24 think they could win a game. Less than half (47%) over the age of 55 think they could complete the feat.
- More than half of American amateurs think their serve matches or surpasses the speed of the average pro.
