Djokovic teams up with Universal Tennis Rating (UTR)

Novak Djokovic has announced an investment and partnership with Universal Tennis Rating (UTR). The world No. 1 joins the likes of Oracle, Team8, IMG, ITA and Rafa Nadal Academy, to name a few.

“Universal Tennis has a compelling plan, the capabilities and resources, and the innovative products and ideas to improve the tennis ecosystem," Djokovic said. "I am excited to work with the company and  their world-class partners to provide solutions that will positively impact tennis. I encourage all nations, the ITF and the governing bodies to join our collaborative effort to bring about long lasting positive change benefiting everyone in tennis."

Together, the partners will work on several core initiatives:

1

Expand the worldwide adoption of (UTR), the global tennis rating that measures all players regardless of age, gender and geography on the same 16.50 scale

2

Support new events and enhance existing opportunities in pro tennis to ensure the sport retains economically viable pathways for pro players

3

Collaborate to support philanthropic endeavors

4

Develop initiatives to improve the game for players, organizers and those involved in the business of tennis

UTR has been successfully predicting some upsets at the Australian Open by giving an extra way of looking at how well a player is playing at that exact moment. For example, Tomas Berdych was ranked 41 spots lower than Diego Schwartzman but his overall UTR and UTR on hard courts was higher than the world No. 16's.

Berdych would beat Schwartzman in four sets before losing to Rafael Nadal in straight sets in the fourth round. Djokovic has been powering through the Melbourne field and he takes on Daniil Medvedev on Monday.

"We look forward to collaborating with Novak and his team to bring needed solutions to all levels of tennis to ensure the sport develops and grows,” said Universal Tennis chairman and CEO Mark Leschly.

The Djokovic news came on the same day as the announcement that Tennis Australia is also teaming with UTR.

“We believe that Universal Tennis can help support the sport by opening up opportunities for the everyday player and bringing a new level of innovation to the game," Craig Tiley, Tennis Australia CEO and Australian Open tournament director said. "We’re looking forward to collaborating and identifying new opportunities to grow engagement in the game.”

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