Söğüt, Mustafa Kırıkkale University - Faculty of Sport Sciences, Turkey

Ball Speed during the Tennis Serve in Relation to Skill Level and Body Height

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The purpose of this study was to determine the possible relations between serve speed and tennis skill level, and body height. Participants were male (n= 16, age= 13.81 ± 1.11 years) and female (n= 17, age= 13.35 ± 1.37 years) junior tennis players. Serve speed was evaluated through using a sports radar gun. Tennis skill level was assessed by means of International Tennis Number (ITN) on-court assessment protocol. Pearson’s correlation coefficient indicated significant and positive relationships between serve speed and ITN in both male (r= 0.678) and female (r= 0.490) participants. Results also revealed significant and positive correlation between serve speed and body height in male (r= 0.733) and female (r= 0.504) players. Thus, study highlighted the positive association between serve speedand skill level, and body height in junior male and female tennis players.

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Tennis , serve speed , skill level , body height

Pamukkale Journal Of Sport Sciences

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