An Se Young does it. So does Carolina Marin. So too, conceivably, does every player on the circuit – video analysis as part of match preparation: looking for flaws and patterns in opponents and one’s own, building up a visual bank of cues that might make a difference between win and loss.

Tai Tzu Ying, however, does not. Studying match videos is just not her thing.

“I’ve never watched any video as part of preparation,” says the maverick. “I don’t watch myself; I don’t watch anyone else either.”

But why not?

There is only one variable in Tai Tzu Ying’s mind when it comes to performance – the number of her errors. To her, the equation is simple: her chances of victory are inversely proportional to her errors. Somewhat surprisingly, the performance of an opponent doesn’t count in this equation.

“The outcome of a match depends on my error count,” says Tai. “When I lose, I know the aspects I didn’t do well in. So if I watch a past video, all I can learn is that I need to bring down my errors. Knowing this will not help my game, because it’s still up to myself. If I can do the things I want to do or have to do, I can put up a strong challenge. If I watch a video and yet make a lot of errors, it’s not going to help.

“It all depends on me.”

But her chief opponents, the ones who have beaten her consistently – An Se Young, Akane Yamaguchi, Chen Yu Fei and Carolina Marin – are all evolving. How was Tai going to keep up if she didn’t study their game?

“Generally a player will not change too much,” she responds. “For example, An Se Young used to rally a lot, but now she tries to attack more often. Chen Yu Fei is also similar to An Se Young, they didn’t attack so much earlier, but now they do a lot more. Akane is a more attacking player.

“Players like Akane, An Se Young and Chen Yu Fei are playing very fast now, so it’s more important for me to prepare myself than to understand them.

“I’ve played them many times, I know them quite well. An Se Young is very consistent, Akane is strong in attack and fast… so generally, I understand them. But first and foremost is to prepare myself. I tend to make a lot of mistakes, so I need to reduce my errors and increase my speed.
“I have to prepare myself before I think of my opponent. The number of errors I make in a match is high, so I have to keep my errors in check before I think of a solution against my opponents. For instance, if I can’t keep the shuttle inside the lines, whatever else I do makes no difference.

“If I cannot keep my errors in check, I cannot challenge them.”

Fundamentally, like a gifted student who rejects cramming and homework, Tai appears to go entirely by talent and instinct and memory.