A network-based dynamical ranking system for competitive sports
Abstract
From the viewpoint of networks, a ranking system for players or teams in sports is equivalent to a centrality measure for sports networks, whereby a directed link represents the result of a single game. Previously proposed network-based ranking systems are derived from static networks, i.e., aggregation of the results of games over time. However, the score of a player (or team) fluctuates over time. Defeating a renowned player in the peak performance is intuitively more rewarding than defeating the same player in other periods. To account for this factor, we propose a dynamic variant of such a network-based ranking system and apply it to professional men's tennis data. We derive a set of linear online update equations for the score of each player. The proposed ranking system predicts the outcome of the future games with a higher accuracy than the static counterparts.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1203.2228,
title = {A network-based dynamical ranking system for competitive sports},
author = {Shun Motegi and Naoki Masuda},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1203.2228},
year = {2012}
}
Comments
6 figures