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Vol. 14 №2 (2026)

Article

DIVERSITY AND QUALITATIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF STROKE ACTIONS OF ELITE TENNIS PLAYERS ON DIFFERENT COURT SURFACES (0.37 Mb, pdf) Read
Authors:
Skorodumova Anna Petrovna
Tarpishcheva Aliya Rinatovna
Abdrakhmanova Dinara Gayarovna
Lobanova Svetlana Sergeevna
Keywords:
elite tennis players
stroke actions
diversity of actions
clay surface - slow
grass surface - fast
Annotation:

Objective. The purpose of this study was to identify the shot types employed by elite tennis players, examine their distribution during match play, and assess their performance characteristics on different court surfaces.

The methods included a review of national and international research literature, video analysis of matches involving leading world-class players using computer-assisted notational analysis, and statistical processing of the data with the specially developed software package «AS for Tennis» (ACE).

Results and Discussion. Video analysis of 30 matches from each of two Grand Slam tournaments – the French Open (Roland Garros) and The Wimbledon Championships – revealed clear differences in both shot diversity and performance characteristics across surfaces. The findings may be applied to optimise training processes and refine tactical preparation strategies for elite tennis players considering the court type. On grass courts, the proportion of serves (rising from 25.5% to 35.8%), returns, and volleys was higher, whereas on clay courts groundstrokes predominated (53.2% versus 39.7%), together with a greater use of other shot types. These results indicate that successful adaptation to surface conditions requires players to modify their tactical approach: fast courts favour aggressive and efficient serving and returning, while slow courts place greater emphasis on shot variation during extended rallies.

Conclusion. Competition on different court surfaces requires players to demonstrate highly developed speed, power, coordination, and endurance, as these physical capacities must be sustained over prolonged match durations of two hours or more. However, the expression of these qualities varies according to the specific demands of each playing surface.

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