Abstract

The serve toss is crucial for executing a successful and effective serve in tennis. The aim is to determine the relationship between the toss and the success of the flat serve between the female recreational and competitive tennis players. We observed 2 recreational and 8 competitive female tennis players who served 40 flat serves. They were videotaped on a high-speed camera (200Hz) from a side view. We used kinematic data and observed the toss peak and racket-ball contact.  Based on the 2D kinematic analysis, we evaluated the toss peak and the racket-ball contact of the serves: 1) in (good serves) 2) into the net 3) fault-long 4) fault-wide. Recreational players contacted the balls slightly higher and reached slower serve speed compared to competitive players. The competitive players had racket-ball contact about 40 cm closer to the net compared with the recreational players. In addition, the toss variability was bigger for the recreational players. Toss training is very important for players, especially in relation to their own coordination for serving, so it is important to pay a lot of attention to the toss and its practice.

Keywords

Flat serve, Movement Skills, Game Performance, Tennis Players, Kinematic Analysis,

References

  1. Abrams, G.D., Sheets, A.L., Andriacchi, T.P., Safran, M.R. (2011). Review of tennis serve motion analysis and the biomechanics of three serve types with implications for injury. Sport Biomechanics, 10(4), 378–390.
  2. Brabenec, J. (1997). Improving your tennis: Double your fun by playing smart doubles. Tenisall Inc.
  3. Carboch, J. (2017). Comparison of game characteristics of male and female tennis players at grand-slam tournaments in 2016. TRENDS in Sport Science, 4(24), 151–155.
  4. Carboch, J. (2022). Vybrané indikátory herního výkonu v tenisu, vizuální vnímání a anticipace [Selected indicators of game performance in tennis, visual perception and anticipation. Karolinum, Praha.
  5. Carboch, J., Hrychová, D. (2022). Flat serve success in relation to the serve toss and racket-ball impact of competitive and recreational tennis players: A case study. International Journal of Sport, Exercise and Health Research, 6(2), 136–139.
  6. Carboch, J., Pribylova, M. (2015). Porovnani nadhozu u ruzných typu podani mezi pohlavími v tenise. Studia Kinanthropologica, 16(1), 25-31.
  7. Carboch, J., Tufano, J. J., & Süss, V. (2018). Ball toss kinematics of different service types in professional tennis players. International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport, 18(6), 881–891.
  8. Chow, J. W., Carlton, L. G., Lim, Y., Chae, W., Shim, J., Kuenster, A. F., & Kokubun, K. (2003). Comparing the pre- and post-impact ball and racket kinematics of elite tennis players’ first and second serves: A preliminary study. Journal of Sports Sciences, 21, 529–537.
  9. Crespo, M., Miley, D. (2002). Advanced coaches manual. ITF Limited, London.
  10. Cross, R. (2011). The kick serve in tennis. Sports Technology, 4(1–2), 19–28.
  11. Johnson, C.D., McHugh, M.P., Wood, T., Kibler, W.B. (2006). Performance demands of professional male tennis players. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 40(8), 696–699.
  12. O’Donoghue, P., Ingram, B. (2001). A notational analysis of elite tennis strategy. Journal of Sports Sciences, 19(2), 107–115.
  13. Peric, T. (2010). Sportovní trénink. Grada Publishing, Praha.
  14. Reid, M., Whiteside, D., Elliot, B. (2011). Serving to different locations: Set-up, toss, and racket kinematics of the professional tennis serve. Sport Biomechanics, 10(4), 407–414.
  15. Scholl, P. (2008). Tenis (2nd ed., L. Česenková, Trans.). Kopp.
  16. Vacek, J., Vagner, M., Cleather, D.J., Stastny, P. (2023). A systematic review of spatial differences of the ball impact within the serve type at professional and junior tennis players. Applied Sciences, 13(6), 3586.
  17. Vernon, G., Farrow, D., Reid, M. (2018). Returning serve in tennis: A qualitative examination of the interaction of anticipatory information sources used by professional tennis players. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 895.
  18. Vorobiev, A., Arid, G., Dent, D. (1993). Biomechanical similarities and differences of A. Agassi’s first and second serves. Proceedings of the 11th Symposium of the International Society of Biomechanics in Sports.
  19. Whiteside, D., Giblin, G., Reid, M. (2014). Redefining the spatial consistency in the ball toss of the professional female tennis serve. International Conference on Biomechanics in Sports Johnson City, USA.