Diagnostic of footwork characteristics and running speed demands in tennis on different ground surfaces

Background Analysis of court surface effects on foot work and running speed and analysis of correlation between general speed and jump performance and the complex running performance in tennis. Materials and Methods 12 male tennis players performed a tennis specific baseline shuttle run test including one change of direction (SR), either on clay or on an indoor carpet court. Additionally, subjects completed a linear sprint test, a counter movement jump (CMJ), and a drop jump (DJ). Results SR running time (clay: 3.63 ± 0.08 s; carpet: 3.31 ± 0.15 s), change direction time (clay: 1.24 ± 0.09; carpet: 1.09 ± 0.04 s) and ground contact time during the last step while changing direction (clay: 0.92 ± 0.13; carpet: 0.47 ± 0.13 s) were significantly longer on clay (P Conclusion Foot work and running speed demands in tennis are different depending on the court surface and require specific training interventions and testing procedures.