International Journal of Racket Sports Science

Is clay court the best tennis surface? A narrative review

Rodolfo Lisi, Federico Colombo, Renato Rodano, Carlo Albino Frigo — Fri, 30 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This paper aims to demonstrate that clay courts are likely the most suitable playing surfaces in terms of muscle contraction, efficiency and the reduction of risk factors associated with the viscoelastic and frictional properties of the surfaces themselves. The style of play, with more or less frequent accelerations, decelerations and changes of direction, the duration of the match and the frequent tournaments on different playing surfaces can be additional risk factors. In fact, it has been shown that muscles are sensitive to surface stiffness and that frequent playing on different surfaces can be associated with lower limb injuries. Furthermore the busy calendar of ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) and WTA (Women's Tennis Association) is stigmatised because it is characterized by the sudden transition from hard to clay and/or clay to grass without the necessary gradualness, thus preventing proper motor adaptation. The aims of this work emerge from literature and from a biomechanical-theoretical analysis of the loads that result in the musculoskeletal system by human and playing surface interaction.

Tennis Doubles development: Two historical snapshots of tactical changes on professional level over 20 years

Katharina Raasch, Andreas Hahn, Alexander Ferrauti — Fri, 30 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

We aimed to compare tactical characteristics in professional men´s tennis doubles by notational analysis of two historical samples of matches collected at least 20 years apart. Samples were taken either between 1985 and 1990 (D_<1990: 57 matches, 9.305 points, 34.428 strokes) or in 2011 (D_>2010: 8 matches, 1.002 points, 4.297 strokes) during official ATP tournaments. Players were internationally ranked (D_<1990: 76 ± 89; D_>2010: 102 ± 91) and all matches were played on clay courts following ITF rules. Notational analysis was done by tagging video recordings following the same self-programmed notation software model. Absolute and percentage numbers of stroke rates, winners, and errors as well as specific tactics for services (e. g. Serve & Volley), returns (e. g. Chip & Charge), volleys and groundstrokes (e. g. positioning) were analysed. Coding was done by two experienced tennis coaches. Interrater reliability was calculated by Cohen ́s Kappa and items with r < 0.9 were excluded. Differences between D_<1990 and D_>2010 were calculated by independent t-tests. Significance level was set at p<0.05. Rally length (3.7±0.3 vs. 4.2±0.5 strokes per point, p<0.001) increased significantly from D_<1990 to D_>2010. The percentage of serves (32.5±3.9 vs. 23.8±3.5 %) and volleys (25.1±4.0 vs. 17.3±5.7 %) decreased while the percentage of groundstrokes increased over time (8.8±3.6 vs. 26.9±7.0 %) (p<0.001). Serve & Volley application was reduced to one third in D_>2010 (98.7±2.0 % vs 33.9±33.4 %) with a high individual variation. Positioning of Returns (more often behind the baseline) and volleys (shorter distance to the net) changed in D_>2010 (p<0.001). Tactical characteristics in men´s tennis doubles completely changed within a time frame of 20 years mainly attributed to a decreased Serve & Volley application from most but not from all double players. The current variability in technical and tactical demands must be considered by individualized coaching guidelines.

Sliding benchmarks might prevent de-selection of talented badminton players

Fri, 30 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Despite potential advantages of talent identification practices, the degree of bias in decision-making due to relative age and maturity timing remains a concern. To investigate the impact of relative age and maturity on selection processes, and to examine the possible influence of an intervention aimed at minimizing the impact of relative age and maturity biases, thirty-three boys (M_age = 12.43y ± 0.36y) invited to compete for Badminton Malaysia, completed three anthropometrical measures, eight physical performance assessments, and five motor coordination tests. These players were tracked throughout their career to determine pathway progression (i.e., dropout or continuation) and their level of success (i.e., season-end rankings). With regards to the relative age of athletes and the initial selection to the U13 team, findings revealed that younger and less mature players were disadvantaged, since their morphology, physical fitness, and motor capacities were less developed than their peers. A sliding benchmark intervention was applied, where raw scores were adjusted. Although, the dropout rate from the U13 team was high (24/33 players, 73%), 6 of 9 remaining players of the national team achieved exceptional results, which were evident six years later. As a result of the sliding benchmark intervention, two relatively younger, late maturers with superior motor competence scores, were selected to the elite sport school. Without this intervention, both players might never have won the U21 World Championships. This paper examines the pathway of these competitive badminton athletes and discusses the potential value of applying a sliding benchmark intervention in competitive sport selection settings.