Relationships between anthropometric or functional characterisitics and maximal serve velocity in professional tennis players

Introduction In the last decades, tennis serve has become one of the most important shots of tennis game, allowing players to gain points with no or very short rallies. In fact, as shown by ATP data, in 2015 51 players obtained more than 70% of points during the first serve. This study aims at investigating the possible relationships between anthropometric and functional parameters and maximal serve speed in professional tennis players. Methods Eight professional male tennis players (age 23±4 [mean±SD] years-old; height 181±4 cm; body mass 80±4 kg; playing experience 14±4 years; training practice29±6 hours/week) were recruited. Anthropometric parameters, squat jump, counter movement jump, counter movement jump free (4-Jump, Kistler Instruments, SWI), handgrip strength (Irvington, NY, USA), string tension and first and second maximal serve speed (Stalker Radar, Texas, USA) were assessed. Height jump during first and second serve (Optojump Next, Italy) was also evaluated. Results Pearson’s correlation coefficient showed significant (p