Eye dominance

[dlam]

I find having the right eye dominant in serving to be an advantage as I can see the service court better as right hander.
I think most players who position sideways to the net are right eye when they serve,
Players that need to face the net prior to the start up of the serve maybe left eye dominant as they need to target with the left eye prior to turing.


I don't think there is an advantage in eye dominance in the ground stroke except for the backhand.
The forehand most players are face on to the net and and can use either eye for preference.
The backhand , especially the one hander backhand the face is sideways so rear eye targeting is an advantage ,

For me my left eye is dominant but I am not strongly left eye dominant and I trained my right eye to aim for certain tasks.

I have concluded that right eye sighting is better for serve and groundstrokes. As it just easier for me to sight the ball and court with one eye as I do not have time to switch eye preferences during the course if play. However I find I prefer to use my left eye for volleys and for first serve return game as the ball comes much faster and I seem to reactive better with my natural eye , my left eye.

 

[eliza]

fascinating...how do you train an eye to be dominant?

 

[dozu]

lol - you are born with it... can't change.

this is a very interesting point - not many people talk about this in tennis... in golf it's a legit topic.

 

[Limpinhitter]

lol - you are born with it... can't change.

this is a very interesting point - not many people talk about this in tennis... in golf it's a legit topic.

Golf and baseball. For a righty, it's better to be left eye dominant.

 

[Fuji]

I'm left eye dominant, and I've never really thought of it for tennis! Very interesting subject though!!!

-Fuji

 

[jswinf]

I have concluded that right eye sighting is better for serve and groundstrokes. As it just easier for me to sight the ball and court with one eye as I do not have time to switch eye preferences during the course if play. However I find I prefer to use my left eye for volleys and for first serve return game as the ball comes much faster and I seem to reactive better with my natural eye , my left eye.

Interesting stuff. I wonder if you have, excuse the expression, "normal" binocular vision? People with a degree of strabismus sometimes can tell what they're seeing with one eye or the other with both eyes open, normal-eyed folks can't without covering an eye, it's just automatic.

While there might be advantages to right or left eye dominance in some tennis actions, (agree that right-hander hitting backhand should benefit from dominant R eye, better look at ball and court without turning head,) I don't think this is something most of us can do that much about.

 

[LuckyR]

fascinating...how do you train an eye to be dominant?

It is definitely changable. I used to be right eye dominant (as are a majority of folks) but later in adult life my left eye became frozen w/ a focal length of infinity and my right eye froze at about 2.5 feet out. So for playing tennis, driving, going to the movies etc I am now left eye dominant.

 

[Geology_Rocks!]

Very famous topic in bowling also.

There is a simple test to check your eye dominance but I can't remember ir now.

 

[vcat]

I'm going to get me a pirate's eye patch for my next match. Performance plus intimidation. It's bound to help.

Sorry to be ignorant on this topic, but how is an eye dominant? Can someone provide a brief overview of this?

 

[LuckyR]

"Eye dominance" actually is better described as "brain preference".

Because of the stereoscopic nature of our vision we are actually seeing two slightly different views of everything we see. Our brains "choose" one as the image to "view" within the visual cortex and the other view is there to provide depth perception.

The classic test is to hold an object at arms length, say, your hand! Make a mental note of the exact position, then alternately close one eye then the other. One view will be identical (the dominant "eye") the other will hop over to the secondary view.

 

[vcat]

"Eye dominance" actually is better described as "brain preference".

Because of the stereoscopic nature of our vision we are actually seeing two slightly different views of everything we see. Our brains "choose" one as the image to "view" within the visual cortex and the other view is there to provide depth perception.

The classic test is to hold an object at arms length, say, your hand! Make a mental note of the exact position, then alternately close one eye then the other. One view will be identical (the dominant "eye") the other will hop over to the secondary view.

I see. Thanks for the description. Very interesting.

 

[FedExpress 333]

When I tried that test, it showed I am left eye dominant.


Darn,I was hoping for an excuse fo sucking at Tennis.

 

[jswinf]

Eye dominance is similar to being right or left handed. The visual system usually tends to regard one eye as the "lead" eye and the other eye backs it up. Like hand dominance, it's what it is for an individual and trying to change it isn't likely to work--unless your name is Nadal, of course.

Another test for eye dominance: point at a target, hold still, cover one eye and then the other. The eye that "lines up" is your dominant eye, the other one will be "off target."

 

[eliza]

OK, since I had my exam, I asked my doc: he maintains all righties are left eye dominant.....
I am intrigued...want to see if I can change....BTW, I am training my left arm to play tennis.....just in case I get tennis elbow in the right....

 

[NLBwell]

OK, since I had my exam, I asked my doc: he maintains all righties are left eye dominant.....
I am intrigued...want to see if I can change....BTW, I am training my left arm to play tennis.....just in case I get tennis elbow in the right....

Not all righties are left eye dominant.
I don't have a dominant eye. If I do the test, I see two of whatever is in front of or behind the object I am focused on. A few % of people are like this.

A chapter on the web:
http://books.google.com/books?id=FX...e=bl&ots=N1Xjx05k6S&sig=vxY5oBEoJqmN4lGDv1XSU
NR4Bs8&hl=en&ei=RFRYTrXtLIPE0AGu9bGnDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=mcenroe%20dominant%20eye&f=false

 

[jswinf]

OK, since I had my exam, I asked my doc: he maintains all righties are left eye dominant.....
..

That's just wrong. But I bet if you can train your left arm to play tennis, you can switch dominant eyes. Maybe wear a patch over your currently dominant eye for, oh, a year or so...

 

[NLBwell]

For amblyopia (sp?) - lazy eye disease - they put a patch on the strong eye to make the lazy eye work and it cures the problem.

 

[eliza]

That's just wrong. But I bet if you can train your left arm to play tennis, you can switch dominant eyes. Maybe wear a patch over your currently dominant eye for, oh, a year or so...

Hey, I am the messenger, not the doc...He must have studied....

 

[eliza]

For amblyopia (sp?) - lazy eye disease - they put a patch on the strong eye to make the lazy eye work and it cures the problem.

Lazy eye? WOW, now you got me VERY intrigued....I have to try to cover one eye and see how I play.....
Does it work for arms/legs, too? Maybe I have a right lazy foot.....it got PF and does not want to run....the other is crying....

 

[NLBwell]

I've played with one contact lens in and one out. It is a strange feeling; depth perception comes and goes since I am seeing the ball well with only one eye for much of the trajectory. With one eye only you wouldn't have any depth percepetion other than visual clues (no parallax).

 

[eliza]

I've played with one contact lens in and one out. It is a strange feeling; depth perception comes and goes since I am seeing the ball well with only one eye for much of the trajectory. With one eye only you wouldn't have any depth percepetion other than visual clues (no parallax).

how interesting! I have a friend who lost one eye, and she drives!!! I want to try your experiment, although I believe it would result in disaster..

 

[jswinf]

Hey, I am the messenger, not the doc...He must have studied....

No criticism of you was intended, sorry. But your doc's statement is way out where the buses don't run.

 

[Natalie]

I am experiencing this in my tennis game right now. My backhand is several levels behind my forehand and it drives me nuts. I'm not sure if I should do a closed or open stance. I'm right handed and also turn at an angle to the baseline when serving and my serve is fantastic- no problems there. I may just have to go one-handed backhand. After 10 years in golf I switched to left-handed clubs and it made a huge difference. I was also a switch hitter in softball, so I do have some abilities using my left side in sports. Do you think open stance is better or closed?

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

Golf and baseball. For a righty, it's better to be left eye dominant.

I've heard that about baseball. The best hitters tend to be cross-dominant (left-eyes but bats right and vice versa). The initially have both eyes on the pitcher but when the ball is at the 10-20 feet away, the head has turned somewhat and the front eye is probably picking up most of the trajectory information.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

OK, since I had my exam, I asked my doc: he maintains all righties are left eye dominant.....
I am intrigued...want to see if I can change....BTW, I am training my left arm to play tennis.....just in case I get tennis elbow in the right....

Yeah, that is just plain wrong. Try another doctor. Sounds like he graduated in the top 95% of his class. I've tested quite a few of my tennis students that appear to be having greater tracking issues on one side. Some are cross-dominant, some are not.

While it is not very easy at all, I believe that it is possible to change your eye dominance as some have suggested.

BTW, it is an excellent challenge developing your left arm. Good for brain development -- creates new neural connections, I believe.
.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

how interesting! I have a friend who lost one eye, and she drives!!! I want to try your experiment, although I believe it would result in disaster..

While you do not have binaural vision using only one eye, you still have some semblance of depth perception. I've done some driving with any eye patch. However, I made sure than I had plenty of space between me and other cars when I did this. It is easy to get fooled using only one eye. I suppose if you do it long enough, you could possibly get better at it.