Match Charting Guide

1. Introduction

The TANS charting format encodes every point in a tennis match into concise, algebraic-like notation. Each rally is timestamped and broken down into strokes, player positions, and outcomes. This guide helps you create your own charting or interpret existing ones.

2. Basic Structure

A typical match chart begins with header information enclosed in brackets:

[Event: 2025 Mutua Madrid Open Women's Singles Final]
[Players: X = Coco Gauff, Y = Aryna Sabalenka]
[Video Url: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_O-4_IJFIjQ]

• Event: Tournament name and round.
• Players: Defines the notations for the players. X,Y for singles and (X,Y), (Z,W) for doubles.
• Video Url: Link to the match source for reference.

3. Rally Format

Each rally starts with a # Time line indicating when the point begins in the video. The following numbered lines describe each stroke in sequence. The rally ends with the point outcome marker.

# Time: 1:47
1. XsA6, (D0, A9) 
2. YfD2, (C1, A9)
3. XfB7, (E0, A9)
4. YfD6, (D0, B9)
5. XfB6, (D0, C9)
6. YfA1, (C0, C9)
YV

• 1. – Stroke number within the rally.
• XsA6 – The player (X), stroke type and target coordinates (A6).
• (D0, A9) – Positions of the players when the shot was hit.
• YV – Rally winner (Y) with result.

4. Notations

The TANS charting system uses concise symbolic encodings to represent shots, directions, player positions, and outcomes. This section explains each encoding in detail.

4.0 Court Partition

4.1 Shot Type Encoding

Code	Description
s	Serve
f	Forehand groundstroke
b	Backhand groundstroke
v	Volley
c	Slice
o	Overhead (smash)
l	Lob
d	Drop shot

4.2 Extra Directional Notations

When the ball is intercepted by a volleyer or the shot's intent is important to record, an additional character can follow the shot type encoding to indicate intended direction:

Code	Direction	Example
i	Down the line	WbiB6 → Backhand down the line
x	Cross court	WbxB6 → Backhand cross court
m	Down the middle	WbmB6 → Backhand down the middle

4.3 Player Position Encoding

Player positions are recorded as tuples showing their court locations immediately before each shot:

Format	Usage
(X, Y)	Singles – positions of Player X and Player Y
(X, Y, Z, W)	Doubles – positions of all four players

4.4 Point Ending Encoding

Each rally ends with a marker denoting the winner and outcome type:

Code	Meaning	Example
V	Winner point
E	Forced error of opponent
U	Unforced error of opponent
n	Error type – net	YU(n) → Y loses with unforced net error
w	Error type – wide	XE(w) → X wins by opponent's forced wide error
h	Error type – long (high)	YU(h) → Y loses with unforced long error

5. Charting Tips