Serving to different locations: set-up, toss, and racket kinematics of the profession

[julian]

Serving to different locations: set-up, toss, and racket kinematics of the professional tennis serve.
Machar Reid, David Whiteside, Bruce Elliott
Sport Science Unit, Tennis Australia, Melbourne, Australia.
Sports Biomechanics (SPORT BIOMECH)Publisher: International Society for the Biomechanics of Sport, Taylor & Francis

Sports Biomechanics (Impact Factor: 0.74). 11/2011; 10(4):407-14. DOI:10.1080/14763141.2011.629206
Source: PubMed
ABSTRACT The serve, as the most important stroke in tennis, has attracted considerable biomechanical interest. Of its component parts, the swing has received disproportionate research attention and consequently, little is known regarding toss kinematics.

Indeed, the age-old question of whether players serve to different parts of the court from the same toss remains unanswered.

Six right-handed professionally ranked players hit first serves (FSs) and second serves (SSs) to three 2 x 1 m target areas reflecting the landing locations of T, body and wide serves, respectively, on the deuce court. A 22 camera, 250 Hz VICON MX motion analysis system captured racket, ball, foot, and h and kinematics. Repeated measures ANOVAs assessed within-player differences in foot, racket, and ball kinematics within the FS and SS as a function of landing location.

The positions of the front foot, ball zenith, and ball impact were significantly different in the FS, while kinematics across all SS were consistent. Front foot position was closer to the centre mark in the T FS and players impacted the ball further left in the wide FS compared to the T FS. This study discusses the findings in the context of the development of the serve as well as potential implications for the return.

 

[Ballinbob]

could you give a brief summary for us dumb people?:|

 

[julian]

Try to digest last three sentences

could you give a brief summary for us dumb people?:|

Hi,
I put a blank line in a front of last three sentences to underline important sentences.
I am on a tennis court feeding balls right now.
Please try to ask some questions.
Try to relate to your experience.
Please let me know whether you understand a formulation of problem in post 1
T FS is an abbreviation for a first serve aimed at the T.

Julian W.Mielniczuk
Catholic Memorial
West Roxbury,MA
Head Coach of Boys' Tennis Team

 

[Ballinbob]

Just gave it another read. It makes sense that your foot would be closer to the center mark for a first serve down the T since that's a shorter distance to the target. Does the study say how the pros position their feet for second serves? Do they still keep it near the center hash mark as if they were hitting a first serve?

 

[sureshs]

It is about the shoulder movement and the degree of opening up of the body, combined with contact point on the ball.

 

[spacediver]

just read through the paper.

They found that on second serves, ball toss and positioning of body didn't change across T, body, and wide serves.

On first serves, ball toss and ball impact were further to the left for wide serves (right handed players serving deuce court).

They also found that on first serves, players stood closer to the hash mark when serving to the T (i.e. they stood more to the left, compared to body and wide serves.)

The players stood closer to the centre mark when hitting T serves (94 ^ 10 cm) as compared to body (99 ^ 13 cm) and wide serves(103 ^ 16 cm).

Weirdly, later on, in the discussion they say the opposite:

Our findings suggest that professionally ranked male players hit SSs to different parts of the deuce court ‘off the same toss’, yet require significant but subtle variation in toss kinematics to do the same with their FSs. Players also appear to stand slightly further right when hitting FS to the T.