Abstract
Abstract The aim of the current study was to analyze players’ interactions in serve and serve return situations and examine the way points were decided due to players’ positions and surfaces. Fourteen ATP 1000 tournament matches were analyzed (7 on hard surface; 7 on clay surface). The type of surface did not affect the way points ended (χ²=9.26; p > 0.05) but did influence serve return vertical positioning (χ²=270.86; p < 0.001). The return positioning, both lateral (χ²=92.68; p < 0.001 on deuce side - χ² = 78.98; p < 0.001 on advantage side) and vertical (χ²=33.59; p < 0.001), and the type of serve (χ²=45.13; p < 0.001) affected the way points were decided. The results from the present study suggest that tennis players should use, or at least seek, strategies based on aggressiveness and consistency of the 1st serve and also indicate that in the 2nd serve return, players are more offensive, and that on hard surfaces, players stand a few steps inside the court to return the serve, differently from clay surfaces. It recommended that serve returns should combine aggression, by inside the court positioning, and accuracy.
Highlights
Tennis is a complex and dynamic sport that involves recurrent decisionmaking of players
The analysis of matches held on fast courts has indicated advantage of players with more first serve (1S) aces, there is still controversy related to the role of serving to the overall performance on fast courts compared to slow courts, notably during Grand Slam tournaments[3,5]
Serve speed and strategies used in different surfaces were examined in Grand Slam tournaments; in general, the results of these studies have showed that tennis players with a higher 1S percentage had a higher percentage of points won, regardless of court surface[3,6]
Summary
Tennis is a complex and dynamic sport that involves recurrent decisionmaking of players These decisions are made based on actions taken by tennis players, e.g., types of service, serve return techniques, “strokes” (technical actions) performed during a rally, winners attempts, and unforced errors[1]. The analysis of matches held on fast courts has indicated advantage of players with more first serve (1S) aces, there is still controversy related to the role of serving to the overall performance on fast courts compared to slow courts, notably during Grand Slam tournaments[3,5]. Serve speed and strategies used in different surfaces were examined in Grand Slam tournaments; in general, the results of these studies have showed that tennis players with a higher 1S percentage had a higher percentage of points won, regardless of court surface[3,6]
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