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. 2013 Jun 1;12(2):309-15.
eCollection 2013.

The variability of the serve toss in tennis under the influence of artificial crosswind

Pedro C Mendes  1 , Juan P Fuentes, Rui Mendes, Fernando M L Martins, Filipe M Clemente, Micael S Couceiro
Affiliations

The variability of the serve toss in tennis under the influence of artificial crosswind

Pedro C Mendes et al. J Sports Sci Med. .

Abstract

This study was made to analyze the variability and stability of the serve toss in tennis, on the x (side-to-side), y (back-to-front) and z (vertical) axes, with 12 experienced players under the influence of crosswind (induced aerodynamic flow) produced by an industrial ventilator. The players were analyzed individually after serving at maximum speed and accuracy to the intersection point of the centre line and service line ("T "point). The results allow us to conclude that the experienced players tend to stabilize the vertical dimension of the service (z axis). Additionally, this study confirms the invariability of the player height ratio: height of impact (1:1.5) in experienced players even when constrained by the "artificial crosswind. "Given the above, the vertical dimension of the tennis serve is assumed as a constant feature, which is guaranteed in the remaining varying dimensions (y and x axes) of the ball toss. Thus, the variability should be seen as part of the solution and not as something to be avoided by players and coaches. Key PointsAnalysis of the tennis serve variability under the effect of artificial crosswindTwelve experienced tennis players performed a set of 20 free serves (without wind constraints), and four other sets of 20 serves under different practice conditions (with different crosswind intensities)The players tend to stabilize in the z axis and vary in the y- (back-to-front) and x-axes (side-to-side) during the ball toss tennis serve in all the practice conditions (with and without crosswind)THE MAINTENANCE OF A PLAYER HEIGHT RATIO: impact height of approximately 1:1.5 in experienced players, even when constrained by "artificial crosswind".

Keywords: Variability; crosswind; motor control; performance; tennis serve.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Three-dimensional reference system for the analysis of the toss ball in three points (x, y, z): Initial, Peak point and impact point of the players.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Ellipses in the xOz plane by condition of practice for player 5 in the PP (top) and IP (bottom).
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
The abscissa ellipse center (cm), the peak and impact point, in the xOz plane of the player 5, by condition of practice. The 0 point indicates the origin of the reference system, where the higher values deviate from the ventilator and the lower values are closer to it.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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