Visual Movements and SportsPerformance of the TennisPlayer: Scoping Review

Abstract

Purpose: The presente study aims to explore the existingbibliography on visual skills and visual movements in tennisplayers.Method: We searched the Scopus, SPORTDiscus, PubMedand Google Scholar databases, which allowed us to select 37empirical studies carried out with a quantitative method.The choice of the studies responded to the criteriaestablished around the Keywords, the subject of the studyand the research methodology.Results: The results are organized into three central topics:(a) Antecedents of visual skills in the 20th century, (b) 21stcentury: Role of saccadic movements, and (c) Reflections onthe tennis feat and saccadic movements.Conclusions: Throughout several decades of researchand monitoring of the “vision and sport” approach infield tennis, specifically in the visual movements betweenfixations and saccadic movements, differential levels oftennis performance can be identified with the potential tobe indicators of better sports performance. Given that thetools used so far in this discipline for the selection and/orevaluation processes are not determinant, due to being amultifactorial sport discipline of perceptual-motor order andopen skills, it is suggested that visual skills may be essentialfor the acquisition of a high competitive level. This aspectraises an interesting line of research that deserves furtherexploration in the future.