There's a long-held belief that women tennis pros are naturally far less consistent than their male counterparts. And some evidence does seem to support this: There are more upsets in women's Grand Slams and high-ranking women are less likely to win their matches, RAND Corporation statistician Stephanie Kovalchik recently found.
Traditionally, this evidence leads to pretty sexist rationalizations, as Pacific Standard points out by highlighting an Economist article that suggested women's bodies and drama with coaches might be to blame. But there's a ridiculously simple, purely mathematical reason that largely accounts for the discrepancy between men's and women's tennis performances, Kovalchik said Sunday at the Joint Statistical Meetings conference.
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