Abstract
The aim of this study was to compare the serve statistics profile of male and female high-level tennis players. In all, 111 tennis singles matches of the Roland Garros 2015 tennis tournament were collected and 10 variables related to first and second serve were analyzed according to service box (deuce and advantage sides) and landing location (wide, body and T‑areas). The results show: (a) men served faster than women; (b) men served a higher percentage of serves at T‑area on deuce side (35.0 vs 27.7%) and at the wide zone on advantage side (44.1 vs 36.7%) with first serves, while women hit more to the body on both sides; (c) men won a higher percentage of points with their first serve compared to women at any zone on both sides, except for the T‑area on deuce side; (d) with their second serve, men placed a greater percentage of serves in the T‑area on deuce side (28.0 vs 21.8%) and wide on the advantage side, whereas women directed more to the body on the advantage side (41.4 vs 33.5%); (e) men won a higher percentage of points with their second serve when they placed it to the body zone on deuce side (54.1 vs 47.1%) and at the T‑area on the advantage side (64.4% vs 44.1%). Our conclusions are that with respect to gender, players showed differing serve patterns. Men served faster, with higher success and placed their serves more frequently to the external areas of the service boxes, while women directed a higher percentage of serves to the body of their opponent.
Zusammenfassung
Das Ziel der Untersuchung bestand im Vergleich der Aufschlagstatistik zwischen männlichen und weiblichen Spitzenspielern. 111 Tenniseinzelspiele auf Sandplätzen (Roland Garros 2015) wurden nach 10 Beobachtungskriterien für den ersten und zweiten Aufschlag von der Einstand- und Vorteilseite und hinsichtlich der Aufschlagrichtung (außen, Körper oder Mitte) analysiert. Die Ergebnisse zeigen: (a) Männer servierten schneller als Frauen; (b) Männer platzierten einen höheren Prozentsatz der ersten Aufschläge in den T‑Bereich auf der Einstandseite (35,0 % vs. 27,7 %) und von der Vorteilseite nach außen (44,1 % vs. 36,7 %), während Frauen auf beiden Seiten mehr auf den Körper platzierten; (c) Männer gewannen beim ersten Aufschlag einen höheren Prozentsatz an Punkten als Frauen, mit Ausnahme von Aufschlägen in den T‑Bereich auf der Einstandseite; (d) mit dem zweiten Aufschlag von der Einstandseite platzierten die Männer häufiger in die T‑Zone (28,0 % vs. 21,8 %), während die Frauen auf der Vorteilseite mehr auf den Körper aufschlugen (41,4 % vs. 33,5 %); (e) Männer gewannen mit ihrem zweiten Aufschlag einen höheren Prozentsatz an Punkten, wenn sie ihn von der Einstandseite auf den Körper (54,1 % vs. 47,1 %) und von der Vorteilseite in die T‑Zone platzierten (64,4 % vs. 44,1 %). Daraus lässt sich schließen, dass die Spieler je nach Geschlecht unterschiedliche Aufschlagmuster aufweisen. Männer servierten schneller und mit höherer Erfolgsrate. Sie platzierten ihre Aufschläge häufiger in die Außenbereiche des Aufschlagsfelds, während Frauen zu einem höheren Anteil auf den Körper ihrer Gegnerinnen servierten.
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G. Torres-Luque, J.C. Blanca-Torres, D. Cabello-Manrique and A.I. Fernández-García declare that they have no competing interests.
For this article no studies with human participants or animals were performed by any of the authors. All studies performed were in accordance with the ethical standards indicated in each case.
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Torres-Luque, G., Blanca-Torres, J.C., Cabello-Manrique, D. et al. Serve profile of male and female professional tennis players at the 2015 Roland Garros Grand Slam tournament. Ger J Exerc Sport Res 49, 319–324 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12662-019-00615-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12662-019-00615-z