Perception of Kinematic Characteristics of Tennis Strokes for Anticipating Stroke Type and Direction

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the sources of visual information used by highly skilled tennis players in anticipating their opponent's shots. In Experiment 1, motion analysis of the strokes showed that the relative motion between the racquet and forearm was different between the ground strokes and lobs, but there were no reliable kinematic differences when shot direction was varied. In Experiment 2, 12 skilled tennis players observed the opponent hitting strokes in a normal video or in a point-light display with different segments occluded. Players' anticipation accuracy was not degraded by the use of the point-light display. Occluding the racquet and forearm significantly reduced the participant's ability to determine the type of stroke produced.

Key words:

• anticipatory visual cues
• point-light display
• visual occlusion
• visual perception

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jaeho Shim

We wish to thank the anonymous reviewers and the section editor, Mark G. Fischman, for their valuable input on the manuscript. Please address all correspondence concerning this article to Jaeho Shim, Department of Health, Human Performance, and Recreation, Baylor University, 1312 S. 5th, P.O. Box 97313, Waco, TX 76798