Impact of Physical Performance and Anthropometric Characteristics on Serve Velocity in Elite Junior Tennis Players

Abstract

Fett, J, Ulbricht, A, and Ferrauti, A. Impact of physical performance and anthropometric characteristics on serve velocity in elite junior tennis players. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000-000, 2018-This study aimed to investigate the impact of physical performance components and anthropometric characteristics on serve velocity (SV) in elite junior tennis players depending on the sex and age group. A sample of the best 1,019 (male = 625, female = 394) junior squad tennis players of the German Tennis Federation participated in the study involving complex anthropometric measurements (body height, body mass, sitting height, and arm span) and physical tests (e.g., SV, medicine ball throws [MBTs], hand grip strength, push-ups, back extension, countermovement jumps [CMJs], horizontal jumps, 20-m sprint, and tennis-specific endurance). Of all the anthropometric and physical characteristics analyzed, the MBTs (r = 0.49-0.60♂; r = 0.20-0.60♀), hand grip strength (r = 0.43-0.59♂; r = 0.27-0.37♀), arm span (r = 0.37-0.56♂; r = 0.24-0.36♀), body height (r = 0.31-0.52♂; r = 0.26-0.38♀), and body mass (r = 0.44-0.57♂; r = 0.35-0.39♀) were particularly closely correlated with SV. The results of the multiple regression analysis indicated that the combination of selected predictors (e.g., MBTs, grip strength, arm span, and body mass) explained 41-66% of the variance in SV of boys and 19-45%, respectively, for girls. The results reinforce that service speed is dependent on physical abilities and anthropometric characteristics but also strongly on additional factors (i.e., technical components). In particular, the upper-body power/strength highlight is important to the junior players' service, especially in athletes with a greater body height and arm span (i.e., biomechanical advantages), whereas purely lower-body power (e.g., CMJ) is less important. To this effect, talent identification and intervention programs focusing on the specific requirements are recommended.

Influence of Strength, Power, and Muscular Stiffness on Stroke Velocity in Junior Tennis Players

“…Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the relationship between strength and power characteristics, individual muscle stiffness values, international tennis number (ITN) and StV in competitive junior tennis players. Our working hypothesis was that a strong positive association will exist between strength and power characteristics, ITN and all strokes, as seen previously in SV (Baiget et al, 2016;Fett et al, 2018;Hayes et al, 2018;Palmer et al, 2018). Also, due to the beneficial effects of enhanced stiffness in explosive actions (Brughelli and Cronin, 2008), a higher level of this property in the muscle groups tested will correlate to faster StV.…”

“…Because of the aforementioned characteristics, it is commonly been accepted that these strokes are affected by several parameters such as technique (Roetert et al, 2009a,b), anthropometrics (Sögüt, 2014;Bonato et al, 2015), strength, power (Baiget et al, 2016;Fett et al, 2018;Palmer et al, 2018) biological (Sanchís-Moysi et al, 2010), and range of movement (ROM) characteristics (Palmer et al, 2018), making the action of a multifactorial nature. Several studies have focused on biomechanical and kinematic factors influencing hitting performance (Elliott et al, 1995;Roetert et al, 2009a,b), establishing the speed of the racquet head, internal rotation of the upper arm, wrist flexion and moment of ball impact as some of the major contributors to generate velocity (Elliott et al, 1995).…”

“…Several studies have focused on biomechanical and kinematic factors influencing hitting performance (Elliott et al, 1995;Roetert et al, 2009a,b), establishing the speed of the racquet head, internal rotation of the upper arm, wrist flexion and moment of ball impact as some of the major contributors to generate velocity (Elliott et al, 1995). Also, anthropometrics such as height and body mass have been related positively with serve speed in professional and young players (Sögüt, 2014;Bonato et al, 2015;Fett et al, 2018).…”

“…Regarding strength values, literature traditionally has focused on analyzing isokinetic data at certain joint positions and degrees that mimic the serve action (Ellenbecker and Roetert, 2003), obtaining moderate positive correlations especially on those positions that resemble the serve motion. More recently, investigations have also aimed to assess strength values adding maximal isometric strength testing to experimental methods, especially in the shoulder complex (Cools et al, 2014;Baiget et al, 2016;Fett et al, 2018;Hayes et al, 2018). When assessing SV, it has been accepted as a contributor to velocity production, but few investigations have aimed to the relationship between maximal isometric strength and forehands or backhands.…”

“…Further research regarding groundstrokes could be of interest as previous studies have shown a strong relationship between isometric strength and performance (Baiget et al, 2016). When focusing on dynamic strength, some interesting data has recently been analyzed, indicating upper body strength and power as important contributors of the junior tennis player's serve (Fett et al, 2018;Palmer et al, 2018). Nevertheless, as the majority of investigations have established strength and power as contributors to SV in elite players, it seems interesting to further focus on these measurements regarding young competitive players and especially analyzing the groundstrokes.…”