Max Brouwer
Max Brouwer (MSc) is a Data Scientist at the Royal Dutch Lawn Tennis Association (KNLTB). He graduated cum laude from the University of Groningen in 2021, earning a Master’s degree in Sport Science with a focus on applying computer vision and machine learning techniques to tennis.
At the KNLTB, Max contributes to both the Sport Science Team and the Data Team. In the Sport Science Team, he works on projects involving sensor technology, load monitoring, and match analysis. In the Data Team, his expertise extends to recreational tennis and padel, including the development of the new padel rating system.
Session
Padel has been one of the fastest-growing sports in the Netherlands in recent years. While it initially benefited from the rating facilities of its ‘big brother’ tennis, the KNLTB decided in 2024 to develop a dedicated, tailor-made rating system for padel, which has been in effect since 2025. The development process involved extensive analyses, simulations, and probability modeling on data from more than 300,000 padel matches, complemented by recommendations from the field.
In this presentation, the audience will be taken through the technical development process, as well as the unique characteristics of padel that were crucial in creating an effective rating system.