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Junior tennis players travel a lot to play tennis tournaments; this causes them to spend a lot of time away from their homes and disrupts their training, which could reduce their performance and increase the risk of injury. The purpose of this study was to analyze the changes in physical performance and body composition after a six-week international tour in young Chilean female tennis players. Thirty young female tennis players (15.4 ± 0.6) participated in this study. Body weight, skinfolds, and perimeters were measured. Body fat percentage (BFP) and skeletal muscle mass (SMM) were calculated. For physical performance, 5 m sprint, the 505 with stationary start test (505 test), the pro-agility test, countermovement jump (CMJ), and medicine ball throw (MBT) were evaluated. The results show a significant increase in BFP and decrease in SMM (p < 0.01; d = −0.18 and 0.19, respectively). In terms of physical performance, 5 m sprint, the 505 test (p < 0.01; d = −0.95 and −0.95, respectively), CMJ, MBT, and HJ significantly decreased post-tour (p < 0.05; d = 0.96, 0.89 and 0.47, respectively). We conclude that, after a six-week international tour, there were changes in body composition and a significant decrease in 5 m sprint, the 505 test, CMJ, and MBT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we tested the theory of angles that was proposed almost a century ago by the tennis player Henri Cochet. This theory proposes that expert tennis players should position themselves on the bisector of the angle of the opponent's possibilities in order to optimize shot return, suggesting a geometric occupation of the court relative to the opponent's affordances; namely what he/she is capable of doing. We tested this hypothesis by analysing player and ball positioning data from professional tennis matches recorded with a Hawk-Eye system. We compared this hypothesis with two alternative computational and probabilistic hypotheses which would consist in positioning oneself on the average or the median of the shots usually played from a given location. The results show that expert tennis players apply the principles of the theory of angles and thus confirm Henri Cochet's intuition. That is, for lateral court positioning, a geometric strategy is deemed optimal by expert players. It also appears that the more experienced the players are, the more precise their application of this strategy becomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Emotions consist of different components such as the emotional experience, physiological reactions, action tendencies, or emotional expressions. Assessing the relation of these components may help to better understand the role of emotions in sport competitions. Based on the component process model of emotions, the goal of the present study was to assess the relation between emotional experiences and emotional expressions. Methods: Twenty tennis players (7 female) with an average age of 23.10 (SD = 4.88) were taped during competitive tennis matches. Thereafter, in individual meetings, after having watched themselves on the footage at pre-selected points, the players had to indicate whether, immediately after the end of a rally, they had a positive or a negative emotional experience and, in case they had one, rate its intensity. Moreover, based on their observable behavior, the players were also asked to state whether they could recognize a positive or a negative emotional expression and, in case they recognized one, rate its intensity. The occurrence of emotional expressions was additionally rated by two external coders. Using multilevel models, separate analyses were conducted for positive emotions after won points and negative emotions after lost points. Results and discussion: For both positive and negative emotions, the results indicated a positive correlation between emotional experiences and emotional expressions. Moreover, the intensity of emotional experiences could predict the occurrence of an emotional expression rated by both the players or external coders. These insights into the relation between emotional experiences and emotional expressions may help players to more effectively regulate their emotions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relative age effect (RAE) has been the subject of many studies, but no relevant literature has discussed the phenomenon of RAE in Chinese tennis. Numerous studies have demonstrated that RAE significantly contributes to brain drain and other occurrences that create inequity. This paper analyzes the birth dates and year-end rankings of all male players (N = 2697) who participated in China's junior tennis tournaments (U12, U14, U16) between 2014 and 2019 and who were selected for China's National Junior Team in 2019 and 2020; the paper classifies the birth dates into quarters and semesters. One of the research objectives of this study is to analyze whether RAE exists in Chinese junior men's tennis and whether RAE exerts an effect on athletes' performance. Differences between the observed and expected birthdate distributions were tested using chi-square statistics, and subsequent calculations were tested using odds ratios. The study found that RAE was present in all Chinese junior male tennis sports groups (p<0.001). The percentages of athletes born in the first half of the year were 56.4% (U12), 60.4% (U14), and 60.4% (U16), and the percentages of those born in the first quarter were 34.1% (U12), 36.4% (U14), and 37.1% (U16). Athletes with birth dates closer to the beginning of the year had a higher probability of achieving excellent athletic performance as a result of RAE, whereas those who were born near the end of the year had a more difficult time achieving strong athletic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mixed‐strategy Nash equilibrium is the cornerstone of our understanding of strategic situations that require decision makers to be unpredictable. Using data from nearly half a million serves over 3000 tennis matches, and data on player rankings from the ATP and WTA, we examine whether the behavior of professional tennis players is consistent with equilibrium. We find that win rates conform remarkably closely to the theory for men, but conform somewhat less neatly for women. We show that the behavior in the field of more highly ranked (i.e., better) players conforms more closely to theory. We show that the statistical tests used in the prior related literature are not valid for large samples like ours; we develop a novel statistical test that is valid and show, via Monte Carlo simulations, that it is more powerful against the alternative that receivers follows a nonequilibrium mixture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of statistical tools for predicting the winner in tennis matches has enjoyed an increase in popularity over the last two decades and, currently, a variety of methods are available. In particular, paired comparison approaches make use of latent ability estimates or rating calculations to determine the probability that a player will win a match. In this paper, we extend this latter class of models by using network indicators for the predictions. We propose a measure based on eigenvector centrality. Unlike what happens for the standard paired comparisons class (where the rates or latent abilities only change at time t for those players involved in the matches at time t), the use of a centrality measure allows the ratings of the whole set of players to vary every time there is a new match. The resulting ratings are then used as a covariate in a simple logit model. Evaluating the proposed approach with respect to some popular competing specifications, we find that the centrality-based approach largely and consistently outperforms all the alternative models considered in terms of the prediction accuracy. Finally, the proposed method also achieves positive betting results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: With the widespread use of wearable sensors, various methods to evaluate external physical loads using acceleration signals measured by inertial sensors in sporting activities have been proposed. Acceleration-derived external physical loads have been evaluated as a simple indicator, such as the mean or cumulative values of the target interval. However, such a conventional simplified indicator may not adequately represent the features of the external physical load in sporting activities involving various movement intensities. Therefore, we propose a method to evaluate the external physical load of tennis player based on the histogram of acceleration-derived signal obtained from wearable inertial sensors. Methods: Twenty-eight matches of 14 male collegiate players and 55 matches of 55 male middle-aged players wore sportswear-type wearable sensors during official tennis matches. The norm of the three-dimensional acceleration signal measured using the wearable sensor was smoothed, and the rest period (less than 0.3 G of at least 5 s) was excluded. Because the histogram of the processed acceleration signal showed a bimodal distribution, for example, high- and lowintensity peaks, a Gaussian mixture model was fitted to the histogram, and the model parameters were obtained to characterize the bimodal distribution of the acceleration signal for each player. Results: Among the obtained Gaussian mixture model parameters, the linear discrimination analysis revealed that the mean and standard deviation of the highintensity side acceleration value accurately classified collegiate and middle-aged players with 93% accuracy; however, the conventional method (only the overall mean) showed less accurate classification results (63%). Conclusion: Themean and standard deviation of the high-intensity side extracted by the Gaussian mixture modeling is found to be the effective parameter representing the external physical load of tennis players. The histogram-based feature extraction of the acceleration-derived signal that exhibit multimodal distribution may provide a novel insight into monitoring external physical load in other sporting activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The precompetitive anxiety should be controlled in athletes to optimize their performance. In this regard, heart rate variability (HRV) is a non-invasive tool to assess the autonomic nervous system balance. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the HRV response of elite international junior tennis players during an international tournament. Eleven players participate in this study, with a mean age of 15.36 (0.67) years old. The HRV of tennis players are assessed 24 h before the event, and immediately before the first and the second match of the ITF Junior Davis Cup event. Each of the registers lasted 5 min and the time domain, frequency domain, and non-linear variables were extracted. Results show that elite tennis players did not decrease the HRV between the baseline and the first match. However, the HRV response significantly differed between the baseline and the second match. Nevertheless, anxiety was higher before the first match than before the second match. Coaches and physical trainers could use HRV to control and manage the precompetitive anxiety of junior tennis players. The experience in international tournaments and the familiarization with the environment in the second match could explain these results. The aim of the present study was to investigate the evolution of the HRV during an international team tennis tournament in elite junior tennis players. A total of 11 tennis players, with a mean age of 15.36 (0.67) from six nationalities, participated in this cross-sectional study. Participants were measured one day before the event, before the first match, and before the second match of the ITF Junior Davis Cup event. Each of the registers lasted 5 min and the time domain, frequency domain and non-linear variables were extracted. The tournament took place in Valencia (Spain). Results showed that there was not a significant decrease in the heart rate variability (HRV) induced by precompetitive stress. However, significant differences (p-value < 0.05) were found between baseline and second match pre-competition HRV values in low frequency (LFNu) (p-value = 0.008) and high frequency (HFNu) power (p-value = 0.008), LF/HF ratio (p-value = 0.008) and Sample Entropy (SampEn) (p-value = 0.033) variables. Furthermore, cognitive anxiety (measured by CSAI-2r) (p-value = 0.017) and anxiety (measured by STAI-S) (p-value = 0.042) were higher before the first match than before the second match. Coaches and physical trainers could use HRV to control and manage the precompetitive anxiety of junior tennis players. The experience in international tournaments and the familiarization with the environment in the second match could explain these results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why is Roger Federer a GOAT (‘Greatest of All Time’) of tennis? I argue that the correct response goes beyond statistics and style of play; instead, it is due to the fact that Federer embodies the qualities that typify sporting genius. More than merely being a developed or refined form of expertise, sporting genius relies on the notion of performative fit; that is, the capacity to express viable ways of succeeding within a given sport in virtue of one’s cultivated history of biological and socio-cultural existence. In other words, a genius such as Federer perfectly fits the requirements of his sport and, moreover, is able to safeguard and shape this fit through his unique disposition to perform in certain ways. Performative fit provides the foundations for received traits of genius such as creativity, self-belief and risk-taking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anglo-American relations in tennis are a fascinating subject, particularly in the period of the late-19th/early-20th century, during which on- and off-court developments reflected and indicated broader societal shifts, as the US gradually replaced Britain as the world's leading industrialized nation. This paper aims to discuss how Anglo-American relations in lawn tennis shifted throughout this period, from when lawn tennis was "invented" in Britain to the onset of the Great War, and to contextualize these developments in the light of shifting broader cultural relations more generally between both nations, alongside developments within sport and tennis more specifically. The following aspects are examined: attitudes toward the relative standards of both American and British players from correspondents of both nations in terms of their overall rank and possibilities of success; and, attitudes from tennis officials toward the formal organization of competitions between players of both nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors studied gaze behaviors in high- and intermediate-skill tennis players while they performed tennis serve returns. Participants returned 40 serves in 4 serve locations while wearing a mobile eye tracker. The ball's flight path was deconstructed into 3 distinct locations (i.e., ball before bouncing on surface, the bounce area, and ball after bouncing on surface), and gaze behaviors along with quiet-eye (QE) onset and durations were recorded. Results revealed that (a) high-skill players exhibited better return shots than their lower skill counterparts, (b) high-skill players and high-score shots were characterized by longer fixation durations on the ball at prebounce, and (c) longer QE durations were observed for high-skill players and high-score shots. Findings provide valuable insight into the relationship between gaze behaviors, QE, and performance in fast-pace interceptive sports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the level of tennis improves, the ability and strategy to play in the game determine the responsibility for the outcome of the game. It is committed to improving the professional and strategic level of Asian tennis players and narrowing the gap with high-level European and American tennis players. The purpose of this paper is to study the application of machine learning in the study of the evaluation model of the technical and tactical effectiveness of tennis matches, and proposes the decision tree algorithm, artificial neural network, reinforcement learning algorithm, and related concepts of tennis matches. Therefore, this paper selects Federer's technical and tactical games from 2013 to 2017 as the research object. And by paying attention to the application characteristics of Federer's methods and strategies in each stage, a detailed statistical analysis of the data is carried out point by point. The exploratory outcomes show that through the AI calculation, it is found that the incredible skill and vital sufficiency of Federer's hard court game change around 0.600, and the typical worth is 0.594. Particular and vital efficiency showed a sluggish recuperation in 2017. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Professional tennis players have their own habits of tactics and play. However, players' shortcomings can be corrected by constantly practicing professional techniques and by tactical analysis. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a two-stage, expert decision-making system for tennis matches. The first stage consisted in dividing the court area and defining the technical classification of the net. Tennis coaches were invited to assess tennis players' skills on the competition court, dividing it into 48 areas on both sides of the court centerline and identifying the skills used by the players. In the second stage, a classification model was developed, and the score, hitting habits, and tennis skills of the players, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, over 10 matches, played from 2007 to 2019, were analyzed and classified using notational analysis and the C5.0 decision tree algorithm. The results show that the two players' highest scored techniques were the forehand stroke in the backcourt and the backhand stroke in the half court. Thus, using this expert decision-making system, our data can provide other players with imaginary training objects from two of the top players in the world to be used during training and can allow the accumulation of experience for players through continuous simulation and training analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tennis' popularity, along with its global viewership, is increasing. However, there has not been an abundance of analysis surrounding predictions of player matchups or a focus on significant statistics affecting game play in tennis. This paper describes a program that can determine the probability of a player winning against his opponent based upon the list of selected top-performing players. Moreover, this paper provides the logistic regression model used to calculate these winning probabilities; this summary demonstrates which variables were significant in predicting the outcome of a tennis match. For data, players were selected from the top 10 performers in men's tennis from 2015-2019. The individual and match statistics for the top ten players were utilized in developing this model; data was taken from the Grand Slam Tournaments. The model created is a logistic regression model. A logistic regression model was deemed to be the most optimal method as it is designed to predict probabilities for a binary outcome. This model was successfully able to create predictions for the percentage that any of these players was able to beat any other player that was in the dataset. Overall, this model was successfully able to gather information about which players would have the highest chance of winning a tennis match and the most important factors that lead to this outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai, posted a statement on the social media site Weibo accusing China's former Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli of sexually assaulting her, referring to a years-long, on-again, off-again relationship. Topics include withdrawal of Peng from tournaments by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), WTA's concerns about her well-being and ability to communicate without censorship or coercion, and #MeToo movement, which has managed to gain momentum in spite of an intensifying government crackdown on feminist activism and social media accounts.

This research was conducted to determine the reasons and expectations of tennis players participating in the Eastern League organized by the tennis federation, preferring this sports branch. The research group consists of 138 athletes (53 women and 85 men) participating in the Eastern League Tennis Tournament. The scanning method was used in the research. As a data collection tool, a personal information form prepared by taking expert opinions and a scale form determining the reasons for preferring the tennis branch were used. SPSS statistical package program was used to analyze the data, and the significance was accepted as p<0.05. According to the results of the research, the research group; 73.9% are students, 39.9% are undergraduates, 56.5% are members of a club other than a tennis club, 55.8% do their training at Provincial Directorates of Youth and Sports, and 60%, It has been determined that 1 of them has a provincial championship. In addition, most of the athletes stated that the materials in the sports facilities were insufficient. It was seen that the friends, easy access to the facilities and prevalence, family and TV, cinema, and press-broadcasting were effective in preferring the tennis branch of the research group, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Beetroot juice is a source of dietary nitrate (NO3-) recognized as a potential ergogenic aid to enhance tolerance during endurance exercise of submaximal-to-maximal intensity. However, little is known about the effects of beetroot juice on exercise performance in intermittent sports such as tennis. The present study aimed to determine the effect of acute beetroot juice supplementation on movement patterns during a competitive tennis match in professional players.Methods: In a double-blind and randomized experiment, nine professional tennis players performed two experimental trials 3 h after ingesting either 70 mL of a commercially-available concentrated beetroot juice (6.4 mmol NO3-) or placebo (0.005 mmol NO3-). In each experimental trial, players completed a 3-set tennis match and two performance tests (i.e., serve speed and isometric handgrip strength) before and after the match. Match-play running performance was recorded using wearable GPS and accelerometer units.Results: In comparison to the placebo trial, the acute beetroot juice supplementation did not modify any match-play running performance (p = 0.178 to 0.997, d = 0.01 to 0.42). Furthermore, beetroot juice supplementation did not alter the pre-to-post match change in serve speed (p = 0.663, ηp2 = 0.03) or isometric handgrip strength (p = 0.219, ηp2 = 0.18).Conclusions: The current results indicated that acute ingestion of a commercialized shot of nitrate-rich beetroot juice (70 mL containing 6.4 mmol of NO3-) did not produce any performance benefit on tennis matchplay. Thus, acute beetroot juice supplementation seems an ergogenic aid with little value to enhance physical performance in professional tennis players. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wheelchair mobility is an important factor for success in wheelchair tennis. Tennis matches can be played on different surfaces, so the aim of the present study was to analyse the influence of court surface on wheelchair tennis mobility. Four male wheelchair tennis players (age = 33.75 ± 12.33 years) performed two tests (20 m sprint and agility t-test) on three official court surfaces (hard, artificial grass and clay). Photocell gates were used to record time and ascertain sprint and turn ability of the wheelchair tennis players. ANOVA test with post hoc pairwise comparisons were conducted to compare the mean differences among surfaces. Following the analysis, the wheelchair tennis players moved faster on hard or clay surfaces than on artificial grass although no statistically significant differences in the 20 m sprint and agility t-test between each of the three surfaces were found (p > 0.05). Moreover, the surface seems to affect mobility more, with respect to turns than in linear locomotion, although more research is needed on this aspect. The playing surfaces may need to be an extra variable in planning performance related activities such as techniques and tactics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of research came in the fact of knowing the contribution of each of the physical and biomechanical variables to the level of performance of the front strikes, as well as seeking to develop some physical and mechanical capabilities of the accuracy of the performance of the front ground strike to improve the performance of the research sample for the junior group (14-16) years. As for the research problem: Despite the development of the tennis game in Iraq, it suffers from difficulties that impede the course of its development, and through the experience of the two field researchers, the research problem was identified and the previous studies and follow-up of the tennis tournaments for age groups were identified. Performing optimally and among these requirements are special physical abilities and biomechanical conditions that must be characterized by the skills of tennis, especially the forehand skill. Accordingly, the two researchers found the necessity to conduct tests on the physical abilities of tennis players, and to conduct a kinematic analysis to identify the biomechanical conditions of the striking and forehand skills, especially for tennis players aged (14-16) years, considering that knowing these variables for these ages can lead us to the correct path of skill performance and the need for Knowing the precise contribution of each variable to the performance to be later emphasized on these variables that contribute more accurately to performance and development, and to reinforce the other variables less contributing to training and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Performance analysis during match play is vital for the long-term development of tennis players. The primary goal of this study was to establish the differences between junior and entry professional tennis player's selected performance indicators in five-game situations. Data were collected using the Sagit/Tennis tracking system during six junior and four professional tennis matches. Eight boys performed 3,112 strokes, while eight male professional players hit 1,631 strokes. The results showed slight differences in the distance covered by the two observed groups in the specific game situations. Professional players performed faster shots in all game situations, except when playing at the net. They played at a significantly faster tempo than the juniors. This difference was also affected by the higher shots speed and shorter distance between the two players during the rallies. When playing from the baseline, the entry professional players performed shots at a smaller angle than the juniors; and when serving, receiving and playing at the net, they hit shots at a greater angle than the juniors. Our findings may assist coaches and players in improving the effectiveness of their tactical and technical training to enhance their competitive performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, the development and innovation of tennis have basically been integrated with the Internet, and the penetration of big data is accelerating the development of tennis. Collect data and statistics about tennis matches, analyze the key winning factors of the game, assign players' gains and losses, and assign points. Fully understand the game's tactics and various key technical functions of the player and enhance the influence of the game's attention. Therefore, as the era of the Internet of Things is about to come, the development of sports events in my country should seize the opportunity of innovation in the application of Internet of Things technology, accelerate the process of upgrading informatization and intelligence, and achieve leapfrog development. This article is aimed at studying the use of the Internet of Things security technology, research, and design a monitoring system for the key technical characteristics of male tennis players. This paper proposes to develop a novel real-time video semantic analysis prototype system for tennis matches, taking the video from the monitoring perspective of tennis matches as the analysis object. The experimental results in this article show that from Wimbledon to the Australian Open, the Australian Open is very slow, and finally, to the French Open, the speed of the ball slows down and improves the accuracy of the tennis crisis system. The average level and the correct answer rate are 61.37%. Eventually, it rose from the highest 86.13% to 86.92%, and the highest was the lowest. It seems that a monitoring system for the basic technical characteristics of male tennis players is more feasible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Central and peripheric fatigue indicators are among the main reasons for performance decline following competition. Because of the impact of these factors on performance, how these variables are affected by match-play could be of interest, especially in young tennis players. Objective: This study aimed to investigate alterations induced by a simulated tennis match on postural control and muscle characteristics in young tennis players. Method: Seventeen male junior players took part in pre- and post-competition testing sessions performing postural control (displacement, speed and surface area of center of pressures) and muscle characteristics measurements (tone, stiffness, time to relaxation and elasticity). Between trials, participants played an 80-min simulated tennis match. Results: No significant differences were observed in any of the tested variables. Moderate-to-large effect sizes (ES) for decreased stiffness and tone and greater time to relaxation were found between pre- and post-conditions in the right rectus abdominis (-9.8%, -4.4% and 7.8%; ES = 0.8, 0.54 and -0.85). Also, a decrease in tone was found in the right vastus medialis (-7.1%; ES = 0.56), while surface area of the center of pressures with eyes open showed trends towards increasing in post-match measurements (55.9%; ES = 0.56). Conclusion: An 80-min simulated tennis match seems insufficient to elicit significant changes in postural control and mechanical muscle characteristics. Results suggest that physiological responses triggered by match-play were closer to those seen after a moderate activity than those present following a strenuous task. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Journal of Studies & Reseaches of Sport Education is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose: This study builds a stochastic model of a discrete-time Markov chain (DTMC) that fits well with a dataset of professional playing records. Methods: The point-by-point dataset of Men's single matches played in the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) tour from 2011 to 2015 is analyzed. A long-debated assumption on the iid-ness in the point winning probability of the server is statistically tested. A DTMC model is then developed to analyze the dataset further. Results: The statistical test results indicate that the identicality of point winning probabilities is not a valid assumption. For example, the server's point winning probability from scores 40:0, 30:15, 15:30, and 0:40 are significantly different. On the other hand, the independence is a generally valid assumption except for 40:15 where who won the previous point influences the point winning probability. Game winning probabilities and the importance of each point in winning a game are analyzed using the DTMC model by court surfaces and player groups of the different levels of serve effectiveness. Conclusion: Extensive empirical validation concludes unsealed debates over the stochastic models for tennis. The presented results reveal interesting properties in professional tennis matches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to highlight the importance of coordinative abilities in the training plan of 10-12 year old tennis players, and whether through the methods and means chosen for this experiment an optimisation of tennis specific movements is observed. The ability to combine different forms of movement allows the player to better and faster adapt to the different surfaces they have to play on. In most cases, tennis movement is the combined result of and is constantly conditioned by the court area, technical processes and the player's experience. The results of this study show that the development of coordinative abilities positively influences the player's ability to combine the different types of movements specific to tennis matches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In tennis, the accumulation of data has progressed and research on tactical analysis has been conducted. Estimating strategically important factors would have the benefit of providing players with useful advice and helping audience members understand what tennis players are good at. Previous research has been conducted into ways of predicting Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) tennis match outcomes as well as estimating factors that are important for victories using machine learning models. The challenge of previous research is that the victory factor lacks concreteness. Since we thought the root of the abovementioned problem was that previous researchers used game summary as a feature and did not consider the process of rallies between points, this research focused on calculating the frequency of single shots, two-shot patterns, and specific effective shot patterns from each point rally of ATP singles matches. We then used those data to predict point winners and useful features using L1-regularized logistic regression. The highest accuracy obtained was 66.5%, and the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.689. The most prominent feature we found was the ratio of specific shots by specific players. From these results, our method could reveal more concretely tactical factors than previous studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The performance of professional tennis players in the four major Grand Slam tournaments has always been an important research topic, which advances the understanding of the current development of tennis. However, there is little known about the difference between higher-ranked and lower-ranked players considering match performance statistics. The study was aimed to explore the technical, tactical, and physical performance indicators that best discriminate seeded and non-seeded male players in Grand Slams. A total of 549 matches played by 189 individual players during 2015–2017 Grand Slam men's singles were sampled, with corresponding match statistics gathered for each player observation, concerning players' serving, returning, net point, break point, efficiency, and physical performance. The results showed that the seeded players outperformed the non-seeded players in serve and return, break point, net point, and efficiency-related indicators, while the following indicators contributed most to the separation of two player categories: serve and return of serve points won (%), ace (%), peak serve speed, net points won (%), break point per return game, break point saved, winner and unforced error ratio, and dominance ratio. The research findings evidenced the decreased competitive balance in men's competition during Grand Slams due to a rank-based seeding system, whereas coaches could use the information to fine-tune the training benchmarks and match planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tournament competitiveness and predictability of outcomes are inversely related. We introduce a new measure of competitiveness or predictability using discrepancies between tennis players' seed values and attained ranks in all rounds of the four Grand Slam Tennis Tournaments (GST). Using data from the Association of Tennis Professionals and Women's Tennis Association, we study gender-differentiated competitiveness or predictability and its dependence on prize money. Men's GST are less predictable and more competitive than women's GST. While competitiveness increases with prize money, the increase for women is significantly larger than for men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to assess the influence of scapular kinesiotaping and scapular muscle fatigue on tennis performance in dyskinetic players, with regard to racket velocity and the accuracy of the serve. Fifteen tennis players with scapular dyskinesis on the dominant side were assessed when performing 15 serves in three different conditions: standard condition, with kinesiotaping and with scapular fatigue. Racket velocity was estimated using a three-dimensional optoelectronic system. Accuracy was measured using a 1 m2 scoring system. Considering all population, kinesiotaping did not significantly increased racket velocity but in decreased until 45% the accuracy of the serve. As to scapular muscle fatigue, it significantly decreased both racket velocity (4%) and accuracy of the serve (until 55%) in all the sample. So, scapular kinesiotaping would not be recommended to increase performance in dyskinetic tennis players, especially if they are not used to. Scapular muscle fatigue, by disrupting kinetic chain transfer, lead to a decrease in tennis serve performance. In view of the important numbers of serves during a tennis match, improving specific endurance of scapular stabilisers muscles would have an interest in this population to maintain performance during a match. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tennis players and coaches of all proficiency levels seek to understand and improve their play. Summary statistics alone are inadequate to provide the insights players need to improve their games. Spatio-temporal data capturing player and ball movements is likely to provide the actionable insights needed to identify player strengths, weaknesses, and strategies. To fully utilize this spatio-temporal data, we need to integrate it with domain-relevant context meta-data. In this paper, we propose CourtTime, a novel approach to perform data-driven visual analysis of individual tennis matches. Our visual approach introduces a novel visual metaphor, namely 1–D Space-Time Charts that enable the analysis of single points at a glance based on small multiples. We also employ user-driven sorting and clustering techniques and a layout technique that aligns the last few shots in a point to facilitate shot pattern discovery. We discuss the usefulness of CourtTime via an extensive case study and report on feedback from an amateur tennis player and three tennis coaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. Good serving is crucial to succeed in men's world class tennis; however, both chronological and skill-related service game development remain to be elucidated. The study aimed to systematically analyse the development of serving behaviour and serve efficiency in world class men's tennis over a period of 14 years. Methods. Historical data collected from all matches at the Wimbledon Championship between 2002 and 2015 (matches: n = 1772; service games: n = 63,838; serves: n = 401,527) were included for analyses. The analyses focused on 2 comparisons, serve efficiency development over time and possible differences within the world class, i.e. 1st tournament week results (matches: n = 1563; service games: n = 55,989; serves: n = 352,748) and 2nd tournament week results (matches: n = 209; service games: n = 7849; serves: n = 48,779). Results. An increase was observed of the percentages for service games won (p < 0.01), aces served (p < 0.01), and 1st and 2nd serve points won (p < 0.01), whereas double faults (p < 0.05) and serve and volley points played (p < 0.01) decreased over time. Direct comparisons of the 1st and 2nd tournament week show advantages in favour of the 2nd tournament week. Players competing in the 2nd tournament week won higher percentages of service games (p < 0.01) and points on the 1st (p < 0.01) and 2nd serve (p < 0.05), and served more aces (p < 0.05) but fewer double faults (p < 0.05). Conclusions. With a particular impact on the 2nd tournament week, the findings indicate increased serve efficiency in men's world class grass court tennis from 2002 to 2015, which may imply altered practice patterns in tomorrow's training and coaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA's) no-agent rule for prospective collegiate tennis players. It develops the critiques of the NCAA no agent rule and examines the issue through the lens of collegiate and professional tennis. It also informs on the environment of lower-level professional tennis tournaments in which both high school and collegiate players participate.

Performance analysis and identifying performance characteristics associated with success are of great importance to players and coaches in any sport. However, while large amounts of data are available within elite tennis, very few players employ an analyst or attempt to exploit the data to enhance their performance; this is partly attributable to the considerable time and complex techniques required to interpret these large datasets. Using data from the 2016 and 2017 French Open tournaments, we tested the agreement between the results of a simple new method for identifying important performance characteristics (the Percentage of matches in which the Winner Outscored the Loser, PWOL) and the results of two standard statistical methods to establish the validity of the simple method. Spearman's rank-order correlations between the results of the three methods demonstrated excellent agreement, with all methods identifying the same three performance characteristics (points won of 0–4 rally length, baseline points won and first serve points won) as strongly associated with success. Consequently, we propose that the PWOL method is valid for identifying performance characteristics associated with success in tennis, and is therefore a suitable alternative to more complex statistical methods, as it is simpler to calculate, interpret and contextualise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to investigate the prominence of different pacing strategies adopted by male professional tennis players during five-set matches and their relationship with match outcome, ATP ranking and Grand Slam tournament. Fifty five-set matches of the 2014 Grand Slam tournaments were analyzed. First and second serve velocities, percentages of first serve in, and percentages of first and second serve points won were collected for each of the five sets. According to the fluctuations of mean first serve velocity for each of the five sets, players were classified into five types of pacing strategies: 'variable', 'parabolic', 'constant', 'all-out' and 'negative-split'. Professional players mostly used 'variable' pacing strategy (45%), followed by 'parabolic' (20%), 'constant' (18%) and 'all-out' (15%) strategies, which are closely distributed. Finally, 'negative-split' strategy (2%) is infrequently used. The pacing strategy used by players tends to exert an influence on match outcome (P = 0.072). There is no significant association between players' ranking and type of pacing strategy used (P = 0.384). There is no significant association between Grand Slam tournaments and type of pacing strategy used (P = 0.875). Serve velocity and serve points won are significantly decreased in losers, while they are increased or kept constant in winners during the fifth set of the match. 'Negative split', 'variable' and 'parabolic' strategies seem to be the most effective for winning five-set match, while 'all-out' strategy appears ineffective since when players used it, they lost the match in 73% of cases. Moreover, tennis players should consider physical conditioning programs to avoid decreases in serve velocity and percentage during the fifth set of a tennis match. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]