Lawn Tennis Research Articles

The Alteration of Young Boxers’ Athletic and Special Physical Fitness during the First Year of their Physical Training

The goal of this study was to analyze the alteration of young boxers’ athletic and special physical fitness during the annual cycle of their initial training. Research methods: literature review, experiment, testing, comparative analysis, and mathematical statistics. The sample consisted of 14 persons, who were training boxing for one year. The average age of the boxers was 14.9 ± 0.6 years. The duration of the experiment was 10 months (from September till June). The young boxers were training 1—1.5 hours 5 times per week according to the program which was made for them. The training program of one alternative was applied in the experiment. The initial training program contained 24.6% of athletic training, 27.6% of specialphysical training, 28.5% of technical training, and 19.3% of tactical training. The testing of the boxers was performed three times: the first testing was in October, the second one — in February, and the third one — in June. The following training means were used for the young boxers’ athletic training program: physical exercises on the special equipment, exercises with partner, exercises with weights (dumbbells), short distance running, point-to-point running, various jumps, throwing of the stuffed ball, various games. The main means for the young boxers’ special training were imitation exercises, exercises with a rope and lawn tennis balls, exercises at the boxing bags, straight and side thrusts to the boxing bag, defense exercises, thrust imitation using the dumbbells and the stuffed balls. During the annual cycle of the initial training there was a minor alteration in the indexes of the young boxers’ body composition: their height, body weight and Ketle index increased (p < 0.05), while the amount of the fat (%) within the body and the body weight index changed very little (p > 0.05). The strength of the sportsmen’s right hand palm was always bigger than the strength of the left hand palm. The boxers’ athletic and special physical fitness improved (p < 0.05) during one year of their initial training. The boxers’ speed, explosive strength, anaerobic glicolitic endurance, hand strength endurance and flexibility indexes increased significantly (p < 0.05). The strength of the single side thrusts with the front hand to the boxing bag increased from 106.3 ± 7.5 kg to 127.6 ± 8.15 kg (p < 0,05). The strength of the single thrusts with the straight hand increased from 135.2 ± 7.43 kg to 158.5 ± 6.74 kg (p < 0.05). The amount of the thrusts of the examined boxers during the period of 8 sec increased (p < 0.05) in each testing period and at the end of the experiment, the average amount of the boxers’ thrusts in 8 s was 43.5 ± 2.9. The training program, determined for one alternative experiment significantly improved the preparation of young boxers and did not harm their health. During the annual preparation cycle the athletic and special physical fitness of the boxers improved. The implementation of this experimental program made a positive influence on the alteration of the body composition indices of the young boxers.Keywords: athletic training, special physical training, boxing bag, energy input, total energy, total strength

Can physical training minimize the gender differences in lung capacity of trained tennis players aged 14 – 17 years old ?

Background: This study was based on gender differences in male and female trained tennis players. Aim of the study: The aim of this study was to determine the extent that physical training could minimize the gender differences in lung capacities in trained tennis players aged 14–17 years. Material and methods: The participants were ten male and seven female lawn tennis players, with a mean ± standard deviation (SD) age of 15.5 ± 1.27 and 14.43 ± 1.13 years, respectively. Physical characteristics and lung volumes were measured on the same day for each participant. Data were presented as mean ± SD, and Student’s t-test to compare the measured variables was performed. Results: Differences between genders were insignificant in terms of age (years), weight (kg), body fat (%), lean body mass (kg) and chest circumference (cm). However, height (cm), and W/H ratio were significantly (p < 0.05) higher in male tennis players in comparison to female players. Insignificant differences were found for TV (L), SVC (L), FVC (L), FEV1 (L), FEV1/FVC (%), FEF25-75% (L/s), PEF (L/s) and MVV (L/min). The only significant difference (p < 0.05) in lung function measures between male and female trained tennis players was for PIF (L/s). Conclusions: Male tennis players were taller than female tennis players of same age range, which might be advantageous for males while playing. Insignificant differences between male and female players in the various lung variables measured indicated that the influence of height and gender differences could be minimized by proper training during puberty. A significantly higher PIF in male players indicated stronger and more powerful inspiratory muscle activity compared with female tennis players.

The Development and Transformation of Anglo-American Relations in Lawn Tennis around the Turn of the Twentieth Century

Anglo-American relations in tennis are a fascinating subject, particularly in the period of the late-19th/early-20th century, during which on- and off-court developments reflected and indicated broader societal shifts, as the US gradually replaced Britain as the world’s leading industrialized nation. This paper aims to discuss how Anglo-American relations in lawn tennis shifted throughout this period, from when lawn tennis was “invented” in Britain to the onset of the Great War, and to contextualize these developments in the light of shifting broader cultural relations more generally between both nations, alongside developments within sport and tennis more specifically. The following aspects are examined: attitudes toward the relative standards of both American and British players from correspondents of both nations in terms of their overall rank and possibilities of success; and, attitudes from tennis officials toward the formal organization of competitions between players of both nations.

Dwight Davis and the Foundation of the Davis Cup in Tennis: Just Another Doubleday Myth?

Abstract Dwight F. Davis is widely credited with having invented, or at least conceived, the original idea for the international tennis competition that bears his name, the Davis Cup. This paper aims to debunk this myth through comprehensive critical analysis of the period preceding Davis’s apparent epiphany in 1899. Previous national-team-based competitions are investigated, alongside key figures in American and British/Irish tennis, to demonstrate that numerous others had proposed the idea for an international team-based competition long before Davis and that Davis may have appropriated his idea from others with whom he came into contact. Davis’s wealthy background, political ambitions, and model-American image arguably helped smooth the process of his idea being officially accepted by the United States National Lawn Tennis Association, which likely saw in Davis a perfect “front-man” for American tennis at a time when the nation used sporting prowess to promote its identity, particularly in relation to the British, in international sporting competition.

The Wimbledon Championships, the All England Lawn Tennis Club, and “Invented Traditions”

The Wimbledon Championships, staged annually at the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), is a British sporting event of great social significance. Its popularity stretches beyond the high standards of tennis on display to what it seems to represent culturally for many people. Wimbledon’s public image has been carefully constructed over the years, with consideration given to how the players look, behave, and play; the appearance of the courts and AELTC grounds; the refreshments; its corporate partners; and its relationship to television and media generally. This study suggests that many of these aspects, including Wimbledon’s fashions and the all-whites clothing rule, the grass courts, the strawberries and cream and Pimm’s, the royal box, “Henman Hill,“ and the eulogizing of Fred Perry, conform to Eric Hobsbawm’s concept of “invented traditions.” Through analysis of Wimbledon’s subtle branding and constructed public image, as gleaned from testimonies from AELTC executive-committee members and high-profile Wimbledon officials, this article discusses how these invented traditions serve various functions for the AELTC, namely, to establish social cohesion among an “imagined community” of Wimbledon fans, to legitimize Wimbledon’s high status globally, and to inculcate beliefs, value systems, and behavioral conventions in tandem with Wimbledon’s nostalgia for its amateur “golden age.”

A Mathematician's Work

A Mathematician's Work Christina Dixie (bio) Constructs (amplitudes;that's it). For the nosebleedsand the code of points are counted. Or the three pointers,(solves the equation in seconds; okay have twenty-five feet)alley-oops, or the slam dunks are applied—whoosh. Over the tennis net,with winning shots and side spins.(From here, the height should be.) Throw spirals and tackle and get tackled.(From this angle.) And each movement—sweat,elastic therapeutic tapes (swollen muscles and sprains).And kneels or holds up fists pre-gameand with hyperpnoea breaths, remembers namesand grievesin the press conference or the interviewee's mic—See. [End Page 91] Click for larger view View full resolution Kevin Durant, NBA All-Star, starts the play upcourt for the Brooklyn Nets, 2021. Photo by Dina Livotsky. Used with permission. [End Page 92] Click for larger view View full resolution July 1, 2009. Serena Williams in action against Russia's Elena Dementieva during the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Wimbledon, London. Photo courtesy of PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo. [End Page 93] Christina Dixie CHRISTINA DIXIE is a poet and a writer living in Orlando, Florida. Her works Sherbet Vines and Keep the Porch Light On (a PushCart Prize Nomination) were published on an online zine, Lucky Jefferson in the year 2021. In 2020, her poem "Art in Mockingbird's Sky" was published in Sonku Collective and her poem "Failed Intervention" was published in GUMBO Magazine. In 2019, Soul 7 literary magazine published her poetry: Peaches & Jazz, "Same Old Blues, and Truth's Speech"; and Eve's Poetry (website) Magazine published "Beloved's Robe: A Love Letter to Self." Some of her works can also be found on her blog https://tinaloves2write.blogspot.com and additional social media sites. She received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in English: Creative Writing Track with a Minor in Humanities from University of Central Florida in 2007. Copyright © 2022 Johns Hopkins University Press

‘Sandwich-Men Parade the Streets’: Conceptualizing Regionalism and the North-South Divide in British Lawn Tennis

The bulk of tennis historiography has tended to project a Southern-centric image of the sport, through descriptions of its clubs and tournaments, its players, and associations. Both the Lawn Tennis Association and the Wimbledon Championships began and have remained bastions of Southern hegemony, but there existed (and continues to exist) a large and active ‘tennis culture’ in the North that has been overlooked. The aim of this paper is to critically explore the notion of a north-south divide in tennis, commencing from the late nineteenth century to the early post-war period. Comparing both northern and southern regions, including Scotland and Wales, it focuses on the emergence of clubs and tournaments, the attitudes, values and behaviours of players and spectators, and the formation of associations. Evidence suggests the existence of a north-south divide, but one that is qualitatively distinct from that experienced in popular team sports; less a reliance on the construction of Northern sporting heroes, with their concomitant representative personalities and characters, and more a focus on the construction of regional stereotypes of clubs, tournaments and players, and the focus on different values, all set in broader historical contexts of rising and waning fortunes of Northern regions in industry and commerce.

ローンテニスの成立過程に関する研究 : Wingfield(1873)からLTA(1883)までのルールの検討

ローンテニスの成立過程に関する研究 : Wingfield(1873)からLTA(1883)までのルールの検討

近代テニスの日本的受容に関する研究 : 遊戯書にみる初期のテニスルール(明治16〜21年)

近代テニスの日本的受容に関する研究 : 遊戯書にみる初期のテニスルール(明治16〜21年)

‘The old days of amateurism are over’: the Samaranch revolution and the return of Olympic tennis

ABSTRACTTennis featured in every Olympics from 1896 to 1924, after which disagreements between the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF) on matters pertaining to organisational control and the amateur eligibility of players led to tennis being removed from the Olympic Games as a full-medal event until the 1988 Seoul Olympics. This paper traces the steps of the sport’s reinstatement, from when efforts commenced in the 1950s, setting this development in the contexts of: broader political movements, shifting IOC leadership, burgeoning commercialisation of Olympic sport, the concomitant push for professionalisation and the declining influence of amateur ideals within both the Olympic movement and international tennis. Under the leadership of the amateur stalwart Avery Brundage, the IOC stymied attempts to facilitate tennis’s re-entry, challenging both the ILTF on failing to deal with widespread ‘sham-amateur’ practices and the avaricious promoters luring amateur players toward the professional ranks. Brundage and the IOC also strongly condemned the move to ‘open’ tennis and an acceptance of full-blown professionalism. Only a change in leadership, firstly with Lord Killanin and then the progressive reformer Juan Antonio Samaranch, did the IOC recognise the value of tennis within the Olympic movement, which by then had itself become increasingly money-oriented.

Spontaneous Rupture of Quadriceps Tendon: A Report of Two Cases and Review of the Literature

Abstract Introduction Spontaneous rupture of the quadriceps tendon is rare. A sudden snap in the knee and feeling of giving way and occasionally falling are associated with rupture of the tendon. Subsequently, the loss of extensor mechanism of the knee limits ambulation. The aim of this report is to highlight this rare entity and to demonstrate that simple tendon repair could also give good results. Presentation of case The two patients were middle aged who were apparently healthy with active lifestyles prior to their injuries. The first patient is a 61-year-old lady who was descending the staircase when she suddenly felt her knee gave way. She supported herself on the rail and subsequently started ambulating with a stick until presentation. The second patient is a 57-year-old male who was doing a pre-game work out in a lawn tennis court when he felt a sudden pull on his right knee and he slumped. After some weeks, his pain subsided but he noticed poor clearance during gait. A big defect, just above the patella was found in the usual position of the quadriceps tendon in each patient. Simple end-to-end tendon repairs were done for both patients with excellent restoration of the extensor mechanism. Discussion Spontaneous rupture of a strong tendon such as quadriceps is not common. The sudden episode of pain, knee swelling, a gap in the quadriceps and loss of knee extension make clinical diagnosis unmistakable. However, radiological exclusion of patella fracture is important. Conclusion Restoration of the extensor mechanism of the knee is a sine qua non for effective ambulation. The quadriceps pull would always create a gap in the tendon and healing is only possible by surgical apposition of the tendon ends and in our cases by direct suturing.

Injury rates in recreational tennis players do not differ between different playing surfaces

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to determine whether there is a difference in the prevalence of tennis injuries between the four most common court surfaces in the Netherlands, including...

Legacy of the Past

In contemporary times, Chinese Indonesian participation in sport is primarily associated with badminton. Less well known, however, is the prominent role Chinese Indonesians played—before the advent of the New Order—on the wider Indonesian sports scene. For many years they maintained an almost absolute domination in weightlifting and basketball, while enjoying prominence in water sports, lawn tennis, table tennis, and further sports disciplines. This article aims to investigate the determinants influencing their prominent role on the Indonesian sports scene during those periods. It will examine the colonial roots—the prevailing economic and sociopolitical system inherent to the Dutch East Indies—that might have provided a foundational basis for their significant performance in later years. The article will also investigate the political environment manifest during the Sukarno era—one that facilitated Chinese Indonesians’ enthusiastic participation and achievement in sport. The study is based primarily on official documentation, the print media, as well as the testimonies and insights of more than a dozen former Chinese sports champions—now mostly in their seventies.

Effects of Lawn Tennis Association mini tennis as task constraints on children’s match-play characteristics

ABSTRACTThe Lawn Tennis Association’s mini tennis (MT) is a modified version of tennis consisting of progressive stages; however, there have been few attempts to evaluate how MT might shape performance behaviours. Here, we examine effects of playing MT on the emergence of children’s match-play behaviours in 48 junior tennis players. Performance in 1010 match-play points were filmed and coded across 4 tennis stages (MT Red, MT Orange, MT Green and Full Ball), using a notational analysis system. Recorded performance variables included rally length, first serve percentage and shot type, for the purpose of analysing inter-stage comparisons. Results showed a series of specific adaptations to playing characteristics across the stages, including rally length, shot variety and serve success. MT Red rallies (7.36 ± 6.06) were longer than Full Ball rallies (3.83 ± 2.40), and a higher percentage of forehands were played at MT Red (66.40 ± 8.49%) than at Full Ball stage (45.96 ± 6.47%). Findings suggested that MT stages can afford children more opportunities to develop their skills and elicit different match-play characteristics than Full Ball task constraints. Coaches, therefore, should consider the nature of emergent adaptations when designing practice environments to facilitate learning in young tennis players.

The ‘Ubiquitous Apostle of International Play’, Wilberforce Vaughan Eaves: The Forgotten Internationalist of Lawn Tennis

In the context of sustained imperial dominance during the late Victorian era, foreigners perceived British playing styles, methods and approaches to lawn tennis as ‘blueprints’ for aspiring players. Those seeking to learn the game were largely dependent on observing skilled performers, however before the mid-1890s, most of the best British players declined to venture to Australasia and America, perceiving the opposition as inferior and their championships unworthy of their participation. Moreover, while British-trained coaching-professionals – widely considered the world’s best – offered instruction in a small number of clubs, they also rarely ventured outside of Europe. Alongside these barriers, the parochial and ethnocentric Lawn Tennis Association was less than proactive in their approaches to fostering international relations. One man, however, Dr Wilberforce Vaughan Eaves, did more for the internationalization of the sport than anyone else during this period, travelling extensively in America, South Africa and Australasia, demonstrating his skills, offering instruction and advising officials. Consequently, he helped develop the sport’s international character, laying the foundations for the Davis Cup, helping to foster Anglo-Australasian and Anglo-American relations, and hastening the development of foreign players, particularly in Australasia. This paper assesses the notable contributions of a player, coach and diplomat who has been largely ignored.

The ‘ghosts’ of lawn tennis past: exploring the forgotten lives of early working-class coaching-professionals

ABSTRACTThis article examines the lives of late-nineteenth and early-twentieth-century lawn tennis coaching-professionals, notably Tom Burke, Harry Cowdrey, Charles Haggett and George Kerr. These men, considered equally if not more gifted than the first-ranked amateur players of the period, have received scant attention or recognition, either as ‘expert’ players or for their role as coaches/instructors within the ‘amateur’ game. Ostensibly, these working-class boys/men sought employment in clubs, as ball-boys, groundskeepers, stringers and instructors, but, being immediately classified as ‘professionals’, were subsequently marginalised within clubs and barred from amateur competitions. Few outside of the club environs encountered them, few observed or learned of their skills, and fewer still reported their exploits. While many of the top amateur players of the period recognised the need for coaching-professionals, the British Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) was intransigent. They staunchly refused to sanction professional competitions in Britain, fearing they would provide a pathway away from amateurism, and propel the amateur to seek remuneration from their tennis. Coaching-professionals had little choice but to remain as ‘servants’ within their clubs, confined by the rigid class system and unyielding amateur ethos. Hitherto largely ignored within lawn tennis historiography, these men are the ‘ghosts’ of lawn tennis past.

The Relationship of Some Kinematic Variables Between Ball Impact Angle with the Racket In Lawn Tennis Serving (High And Low)

هدف البحث في التعرف على عالقة زاوية تصادم الكرة مع المضرب ببعض المتغيرات الكينماتيكية ألداء مهارة االرسال )المستقيم والقاطع الواطئ والقاطع العالي( واهم الفروض، هناك عالق ذات داللة احصائية بين زاوية التصادم المضرب بالكرة و بعض المتغيرات الكينماتيكية مهارة الارسال)المستقيم والقاطع الواطئ والقاطع العالي( وشملت عينة البحث على )4 )العبين يمثلون منتخب جامعة بغداد وتم استخراج قيم اهم المتغيرات الكيمناتيكية ألداء االرسال بأنواعه الثالث واستنتج الباحثون-ان لزاوية التصادم للكرة مع المضرب اهمية كبيرة في تحديد نوع االرسال وزيادة امكانية االعب في استخدام الارسال للحصول على نقطة من خالل التنويع في اماكن وزوايا سقوط الكرة وارتفاعها .

The Production and Consumption of Lawn-Tennis Shoes in Late-Victorian Britain

AbstractThe lawn-tennis shoe was a popular, widely available commodity in late-Victorian Britain. Associated with new forms of sporting practice and consumption, this type of footwear was mass-produced in modern factories, promoted in the popular leisure press, and sold to both men and women in a variety of retail environments. This article analyzes processes of product innovation, production, and sale, and it situates the shoes within a wider context of sport, commerce, fashion, and class and gender relations. Like other late-Victorian sporting and recreational practices, lawn tennis combined material objects, physical activity, and the stylized display of gender and class ideals. Footwear was valued for symbolic and physically practical reasons. Ideas of intended use determined its design and material form. Sportswear created and communicated new masculine ideals. As lawn-tennis shoes moved from the court into everyday usage, the meanings attached to them accommodated a broader range of practices and contexts.

Scapular Resting Position and Gleno-Humeral Movement Dysfunction in Asymptomatic Racquet Players: A Case-Control Study.

Background:Racquet sports, especially lawn tennis and badminton have been gaining popularity in Asian countries like India. With this increase in popularity, the injury rate in the sport has also increased.Objectives:The study will help detect the presence of gleno-humeral movement dysfunction and scapular resting position abnormality in asymptomatic racquet players, thus providing basis for screening the players and allow the clinician to determine if the asymmetry is a normal adaptation in the player or an abnormal change associated with injury.Materials and Methods:46 asymptomatic professional players were divided into a study group of 23 players (16 tennis and 7 badminton) and control group of 23 football players. Assessment of passive gleno-humeral range of motion and distance of spine and inferior angle of scapula from corresponding spinous process were measured bilaterally and between groups.Results:There was statistically significant reduction in range of internal rotation (62.17 ± 8.09), extension (39.78 ± 4.12) and an increase in the external rotation (106.95 ± 7.49) of dominant compared to non-dominant arm of racquet players and a statistically significant decrease in internal rotation (78.69 ± 10.24), extension (44.78 ± 3.19), adduction (37.39 ± 6.54) and an increase in external rotation (102.6 ± 5.19) of dominant arm of racquet players compared to football players. Study also showed statistically significant increase in the spino-scapular distance at the level of inferior angle of scapula (10.23 ± 1.43) on dominant side compared to non-dominant.Conclusions:The dominant side scapula of asymptomatic racquet players showed increased external rotation and elevation as compared to the non-dominant side. Also, reduced shoulder internal rotation, extension and adduction and gain in shoulder external rotation was observed on the dominant side of racquet players when compared to the control group.

A history of sports notational analysis: a journey into the nineteenth century

This paper presents a history of sports notational analysis, which seeks to develop further our current understanding of the subject. The paper provides evidence that indicates sports notations developed in the mid-nineteenth century, contrary to the current view of it as a twentieth century invention. The paper further illustrates that statistics from these notations appeared regularly in newspapers, periodicals and specialist books of that period, and that the early development of notation, in many sports, was strongly associated with the work of the sports journalist. This paper reviews the work presented in earlier publications, and provides further insight into the history of sport notation in introducing many previously unknown notation systems. This work includes Hugh Fullerton’s earliest known baseball notation; several analytical systems for lawn tennis; examples of nineteenth century boxing notations, and association football notations, which pre-date Charles Reep’s work, hitherto consider the first soccer analysis, by half a century.