Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Availability

Open Access Thesis

Keywords

Tennis--Serve;

Abstract

Recent research has been focusing in the tennis serve to get deeper knowledge about its phases and the factors involved for better performance. This study analyses one aspect of the tennis serve that it was not being considered before, and not too much information was available to the public: The tennis ball toss. A player who can develop consistency and a high efficiency of serve percentage during a tennis match will increase their chances of success. The objective of the tennis serve is to place the ball in the opposite court within the opposite serve quadrant to where the opponent is located. The player who is able to produce a considerable amount of speed and spin using consistent ball contact has a greater chance to dominate the game from the start to win the point. Previous research has been concentrated in the comparison of first and second serve but, there is no correlation of the tennis ball toss and its variability with impact location of the tennis serve so, understanding the implications of the toss and its relationship with the tennis serve was very motivating. This study consists of a 3D analysis of the tennis ball toss and its implications with impact location and impact variability of the tennis serve. Several players were analyzed performing first serves in a tennis tournament and a 3D analysis of the tennis ball toss was made using different techniques to see how the toss will act in different dimensions. The findings in this study are important for the development of athletes and also, to break down old beliefs about the right employment of tennis serves techniques and its relationship with a better execution of the technique itself. This research finds facts about the behavior of the tennis ball during the tennis ball toss in a live tennis match. Although, no significant differences were found among dimensions in the tennis ball toss related with impact variability, there is a difference in the impact location in one of the dimensions analyzed in this study.

Year of Submission

2014

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

School of Health, Physical Education, and Leisure Services

Department

Division of Physical Education

First Advisor

Travis Ficklin

Date Original

2014

Object Description

1 PDF file (vii, 38 pages)

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

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