Pecotic and PlaySight, a unique partnership blossoms

Malta is a tropical archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea, often viewed as a fantastic vacation getaway—not exactly a breeding ground for professional athletes.

Matija Pecotic was born in Belgrade, Serbia to Croatian parents, but he grew up in Malta (a nation that has never produced a great tennis player.)

His journey to No. 207 in the world has been unusual, starting in Yugoslavia, growing up in Malta, playing for an Ivy League school and finally, becoming the guinea pig for a revolutionary tennis technology called PlaySight.

The 26-year-old contributes his success to “luck,” but there has been a lot more to it than that.

The Pecotic family moved to Malta when Matjija was just three (and he picked up the sport because his father played recreationally). With few junior tournaments on the island, and little coaching available, the Croatian spent hours on a local court and watched videos of Rafael Nadal (a fellow lefty) religiously.

After graduating high school, Pecotic put together a CD of himself playing tennis, and shipped it off to over 200 universities in the United States, hoping for a spot on a Division I team.

"Among one of those schools was Princeton. The coach [Glenn Michibata] had some questions about why I didn't play more tournaments or have any better results,” Pecotic said. “I guess he saw some potential in me, and I'm very grateful that he did."

Michibata’s decision to roll the dice on a completely unknown youth from a remote island paid off. By his senior year, Pecotic was No. 2 in the nation.

"Everything changed [at Princeton]. I had the right environment and guys to train with,” he said. “I took advantage of the opportunity to work with a coach that was No. 5 in the world in doubles.”

After graduating with a degree in political science, Pecotic was far from burned out. Having just benefited from his first four years of full-time competitive tennis, he decided to give the pro tour a try (playing for the Croatian flag).

He read an article in which Novak Djokovic (a fellow Belgrade native) shared positive reviews of PlaySight, a fairly new tennis technology. An intrigued Pecotic reached out to Gordon Uehling, the founder and managing director of CourtSense (a New Jersey training that is the first PlaySight “smart” club) to see what all the hype was about. Uehling liked Pecotic so much, he asked him to stay the summer to train.

“It’s been two years now,” Pecotic said. “I started at No. 0 in January 2014, and today I’m No. 207 in the world.”

Pecotic is the first professional player to use PlaySight from the very onset of his career, making him a guinea pig of sorts for the measured impact of the technology.

“I might have been there on the day they put in the first kiosk,” Pecotic said. “It was cool that I was sort of there from the beginning, which I think its great for me to see how much its evolved and how much work has been put into it.”

PlaySight works by using several cameras placed around the court to collect data—everything from shot placement and speed to ball arc and player positioning is recorded. An on-court kiosk registers all the information and help players instantly review drills or points by playing back video and allowing coaches to draw directly on the screen. Players and coaches can then go online to access recorded matches and practices, as well as statistics and analysis. All court time can also be live streamed from any PlaySight court.

“At the beginning we all had to figure out what the best way to use it was,” Pecotic said. “I think it’s important for the player and the coach to control the machine versus spending too much time and energy just with PlaySight because it can slow down the rhythm of the training if you run to the kiosk back and forth every time.”

It’s tough to tell how much the technology has impacted Pecotic’s rise through the professional ranks. But the Croat has definitely noticed how parts of his game benefit from having more knowledge instantly at his fingerprints.

For example, thanks to watching himself on PlaySight, Pecotic realized he was standing too far back behind the baseline, and made adjustments to move forward. He also noticed that serving huge, flat serves wasn’t the most effective way to win points, so he began using more spin and slice serves (he’s a lefty after all).

Pecotic also likes that the technology serves as a note taker for every minute he’s spent training in New Jersey. From anywhere in the world, he can revisit any of his past practices to take a refresher on something he’s worked on or even listen to one of his coaches.

“I’m not a different player because of the PlaySight, but I think I’m smarter—I have more data, I have more knowledge about myself,” he said. “It’s a tool to help you communicate between the player and the coach, and between the player and self.”