PRE- AND POST-IMPACT BALL AND RACQUET CHARACTERISTICS DURING TENNIS SERVES PERFORMED BY ELITE MALE AND FEMALE PLAYERS

This study quantified the pre- and post-impad 3-D kinematics of a tennis ball and racquet. Data were collected during the tennis competition of the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games using two high-speed cameras (200 Hz). Two first serves were analysed for each subject. A one-way ANOVA for the factor of sex (p < .05) was performed for each parameter. The results indicate that, regardless of sex, the ball travelled forward and to the lefl during the flight phase before impact and the ball was hit near the peak height of the racquet. The males had significantly higher height of ball impact, greater pre-impad racquet velocity and greater post-impact ball velocity than their female counterparts. It is not certain whether the techniques used by males and females contributed to the differences in racquet speed observed.