Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 17, 2026

Comparison of Kinetic Characteristics of Footwork during Stroke in Table Tennis: Cross-Step and Chasse Step
Published on: June 16, 2021
The effect of ball impact location on racket and forearm joint angle changes for one-handed tennis backhand
Mark King1, Agnes Hau1, Glen Blenkinsop1
1a School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences , Loughborough University , Leicestershire , UK.
Abstract:
Recreational tennis players tend to have higher incidence of tennis elbow, and this has been hypothesised to be related to one-handed backhand technique and off-centre ball impacts on the racket face. This study aimed to investigate for a range of participants the effect of off-longitudinal axis and off-lateral axis ball-racket impact locations on racket and forearm joint angle changes immediately following impact in one-handed tennis backhand groundstrokes. Three-dimensional racket and wrist angular kinematic data were recorded for 14 university tennis players each performing 30 "flat" one-handed backhand groundstrokes. Off-longitudinal axis ball-racket impact locations explained over 70% of the variation in racket rotation about the longitudinal axis and wrist flexion/extension angles during the 30 ms immediately following impact. Off-lateral axis ball-racket impact locations had a less clear cut influence on racket and forearm rotations. Specifically off-longitudinal impacts below the longitudinal axis forced the wrist into flexion for all participants with there being between 11° and 32° of forced wrist flexion for an off-longitudinal axis impact that was 1 ball diameter away from the midline. This study has confirmed that off-longitudinal impacts below the longitudinal axis contribute to forced wrist flexion and eccentric stretch of the wrist extensors and there can be large differences in the amount of forced wrist flexion from individual to individual and between strokes with different impact locations.
Related Concept Videos
Motion of a Projectile
Horizontal motion, governed by the initial kick, maintains a constant velocity throughout the flight of the soccer ball.
Force and Momentum
Impact: Problem Solving
By designating the launch point as the origin and utilizing kinematic equations, the vertical component of the projectile's velocity at the point of impact is...
Bones of the Upper Limb: Radius
The radius has a nail-shaped head, and a...
Impact
When particles with different initial velocities collide, they induce deformation by applying equal and opposite impulses. At the point of maximum deformation, the particles move together with...
Bones of the Upper Limb: Humerus

