What is a forced error, and unforced error?

Question

What is a forced error, and unforced error?

Answer 1

For this one we deferred to the industry expert, the renowned Dr. Leo Levin of IDS Sports, who does or has done statistics for all of the major tennis tournaments and then some. He's also the person who came up with the term "unforced error" in 1982. Here's what he said.

"By definition, there are only three ways to end a point - with a winner, forced error or unforced error. The idea of an error being either forced or unforced is to place the blame for the error - who is responsible for the missed shot?  Was the error forced by the aggressive play of the opponent or was it unforced, just a mistake by the player who hit the shot?"

"This is how we train our staff to judge an unforced error. An unforced Error is when the player has time to prepare and position himself or herself to get the ball back in play and makes an error. This is a shot that the player would normally get back into play. The real keys here are time and position.  When the opponent takes away time by hitting the prior shot with extra pace this can result in a forced error.  Also, when the opponent forces the player out of position with placement (depth and/or angle) this can result in a forced error."

"As examples, most missed returns of first serves are considered to be forced errors - forced by the pace and placement of the opponent's serve. Many, if not most return errors against second serves, would be unforced errors since most second serves are just means to get the point started and do not put extra pressure on the receiver."

"Other examples, most passing shot attempts that fail would be classified as forced errors, forced by the opponent's aggressive play (the exception would be when an opponent hits a weak approach and the player has time to setup and then misses the shot, that would be unforced).  Most approach shot errors would be unforced because the player is attempting to hit an aggressive shot and misses."

"Another way to look at it is this. Would you classify the prior shot as "weak" or just "in play" Or would you say it was "forcing" or "aggressive"? An error made off of a "weak" or "in play" shot would be unforced.  An error resulting from a "forcing" or "aggressive shot" would be forced."

"By definition double faults are unforced errors."

Answer 2

put simply

a forced error is when your opponent hits a great shot, and it is hard for anyone to return the ball

an unforced error is when it comes striaght to you.. or your already there, and you hit the ball and it hits the net or goes out, and its your fault

Answer 3

And unforced error occurs when a player outright screws up.  They should have been able to return the ball, but they failed.  Whether they dump it into the net, or hit it out.  Basically, they had plenty of time to hit the shot but missed.

A forced error occurs when a player is able to get their racquet on a shot that could have been a winner, but really had no chance at returning it anyhow.  Like if somebody is hit a really hard serve out wide, and they weren't ready for it but they manage to reach out and touch the ball with their frame, it's a forced error.

Answer 4

1) Forced Error- A forced error is when your opponent hits a really good shot (powerful groundstroke, angled volley, drop shot, lob, etc), that you have to run, stretch, dive or scramble to get. Once you get there you are unable to put it back into the court or you hit the net. Technically, you made a mistake but since the your opponents hit a superior shot, they "forced" that error. Basically, if you hit a shot on the run and it doesn't go in, it's a forced error.

2) Unforced Error- An unforced error is a mistake that you make due to simply hitting the ball incorrectly (shanks, mishits) or using improper positioning, lack of precision or just bad luck (such as hitting the let cord and having it drop back on your side). In other words, if you are playing a neutral rally and your shot goes out of bounds or hits the net, that is an unforced error.

Double faults are also considered unforced errors in some tournaments and "service winners" (unreturnble serves that are not deemed aces because the opponent touched it) can also be considered forced errors.

10 months ago