Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Technique effects on upper limb loading in the tennis serve.

B Elliott1, G Fleisig, R Nicholls

  • 1The School of Human Movement and Exercise Science, The University of Western Australia, Australia.

Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport
|June 13, 2003
PubMed
Summary

Male tennis players experience higher shoulder and elbow joint loads than females, contributing to faster serves. Encouraging knee flexion during the backswing can optimize serve performance and reduce joint stress.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Author Correction: Global subsidence of river deltas.

Nature·2026
Same author

Global subsidence of river deltas.

Nature·2026
Same author

The Palaeobiology of Two Crown Group Cnidarians: <i>Haootia quadriformis</i> and <i>Mamsetia manunis</i> gen. et sp. nov. from the Ediacaran of Newfoundland, Canada.

Life (Basel, Switzerland)·2024
Same author

InterCarb: A Community Effort to Improve Interlaboratory Standardization of the Carbonate Clumped Isotope Thermometer Using Carbonate Standards.

Geochemistry, geophysics, geosystems : G(3)·2021
Same author

Management of recurrent implantation failure by gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist and aromatase inhibitor suppression, in women without evidence of endometriosis.

Gynecological endocrinology : the official journal of the International Society of Gynecological Endocrinology·2018
Same author

High prevalence of Clostridium difficile on retail root vegetables, Western Australia.

Journal of applied microbiology·2017

Area of Science:

  • Biomechanics
  • Sports Science
  • Orthopedics

Background:

  • The tennis serve is a complex biomechanical action involving significant forces on the shoulder and elbow joints.
  • Understanding joint loading patterns is crucial for injury prevention and performance enhancement in tennis players.
  • Previous research has explored tennis serve biomechanics, but direct comparisons of joint kinetics between male and female players are limited.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare shoulder and elbow joint loads between male and female tennis players during the serve.
  • To investigate the influence of specific biomechanical parameters, such as knee flexion and backswing technique, on joint kinetics and serve velocity.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized synchronized high-speed video cameras (200 Hz) to capture the serve motion of 20 elite male and female players.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Employed the direct linear transformation method for landmark displacement analysis and the Peak Motus system for data smoothing.
  • Applied a customized inverse-dynamics program to calculate three-dimensional shoulder and elbow joint kinematics and kinetics.

    • Main Results:

    • Male players exhibited significantly higher service speeds (183 km/hr vs. 149 km/hr) and greater normalized and absolute shoulder internal rotation torque at maximal external rotation (MER).
    • Higher absolute elbow varus torque at MER and peak normalized horizontal adduction torque, shoulder compressive force, and absolute compressive force were observed in male players.
    • Lower knee flexion in the backswing correlated with increased normalized internal rotation and varus torque at MER, while abbreviated backswings showed minimal impact on serve velocity or joint loading.

    Conclusions:

    • Higher shoulder and elbow joint loading in male players contributes to their significantly higher service speeds.
    • Players should be encouraged to increase knee flexion during the backswing phase to optimize serve performance and potentially mitigate joint stress.
    • The type of backswing appears to have a negligible effect on serve velocity and shoulder/elbow joint loading.