ECSS Paris 2023: OP-AP25
INTRODUCTION: During professional tennis match-play, the demands for movement efficacy increase due to the high level of technical-tactical expertise of competing athletes (1). To gain an advantage, athletes may require increased perceptual-cognitive performance (anticipation) during rally exchanges to cope with these increased demands. Expert receivers (ball incoming) demonstrate an ability to use perceptual cues in the form of postural kinematics, such as hip and shoulder movement (2) and body movement dynamics (3), to proactively anticipate an opponent’s stroke intention (4). In addition, they exploit the same abilities as hitters (ball leaving) to disguise their strokes to cause deception (5). Therefore, the analysis aimed to understand the anticipatory and deceptive behavior of two expert performers in-situ of grand slam tennis match-play. METHODS: Anticipatory performance was analyzed during two sets, with a frame-by-frame video analysis using Dartfish (v7.0.20114, Dartfish, Fribourg, Switzerland). Every receiver’s (ball incoming) movement response initiated pre-impact was defined as anticipation. The response orientation corresponding to the post-impact ball direction was classified as correct, while in the opposite direction, as an incorrect anticipatory response. The disguising stroke execution intention (ball leaving) was analyzed as the hitter’s stroke intentions judged for stroke direction opposite from the post-contact direction (6). To judge the stroke intentions, kinematics of trunk (hip and shoulder) rotations during shot preparation for the forehand (7) and backhand (8) were observed. We analyzed both performances, acknowledging that if disguising did not occur and execution followed previously judged intentions, the receiver’s anticipatory responses were categorized as “incorrect”, and the disguised stroke execution should be acknowledged as “correct”. RESULTS: Analysis data showed that both experts as receivers initiated: (A) 98 correct anticipatory responses to hitter’s 300 strokes (B) 52 incorrect anticipatory responses to hitter’s 83 disguised strokes. By combining (A) and (B), receivers’ efficiency in anticipatory movement increased from initially observed 98 correct responses (success rate 54%) to 150 (83%), showing that receivers’ efficiency of the anticipatory movement responses should not be analysed without the consideration of hitters’ expertise in disguising stroke performance. CONCLUSION: The analysis suggests that future research should consider the mutual relationship between receivers’ and hitters’ perceptual-cognitive abilities for anticipation. REFERENCES: (1) Giles et al., J Strength Cond. Res., 2024 (2) Ward et al., Res Quart for Exerc & Sport, 2002 (3) Smeeton & Huys, Human Mov Sci, 2011 (4) Yarrow et al., Nat reviews, Neurosc, 2009 (5) Dimic et al., Int J of Sports Sci & Coaching, 2023 (6) Helm et al., Data Brief, 2017 (7) Landlinger et al., Sports Biomech, 2010 (8) Reid & Elliott, Sports Biomech, 2003
Read CV Milos DimicECSS Paris 2023: OP-AP25
INTRODUCTION: Talent typically emerges during adolescence (1), as athletes develop physically, psychologically and socially during this period (2). Talent development is assumed to be a complex, often non-linear and individual-specific process. Yet, longitudinal studies on junior performance during adolescence are limited (4), and many studies retrospectively analyze elite players (5). The current study aims to address this gap by prospectively examining the developmental trajectories of a broad sample of talented tennis players during adolescence, based on a continuous and objective performance measure (i.e., rating). Additionally, the relationship between performance at age 16 and preceding ages is studied. Differences between male and female players will be highlighted. METHODS: Growth Mixture Modeling (GMM) was performed to analyze the development of performance of 755 youth tennis players (at least once ranked top-300 nationally in their age category), aged from 11.5 until 16 years (N=469 males, N=286 females). Players’ individual singles rating of the national rating-system in the Netherlands was taken at half-yearly intervals. Correlations were calculated to analyze the relation between rating at age 16 and the preceding ages. Overlap percentage with preceding ages was calculated for the top 5% and the top 5 players at age 16. RESULTS: To fit the developmental trajectories, a 4-class solution performed best for male players and a 5-class solution was best for female players. For both genders, quadratic fixed and mixture effects were included. The male class with the best performance at age 16 displayed a non-linear developmental trajectory, coming from little improvement up until age 13.5, after which performance improved rapidly. On the other hand, the female class with the best performance at age 16 showed a linear developmental trajectory throughout. For both the whole male and female sample of players, the correlation between rating at the age 16 and at preceding ages increases steadily from .60 at age 11.5 to .95 at age 15.5. The overlap percentage for the best 5% and best 5 is consistently around 15% higher for females than for males between age 11.5 to age 14. CONCLUSION: The growth mixture models for male and female players both show diverse developmental trajectories. Performance in male players remained consistent among the classes between ages 11.5 and 13.5, after which performance diverged. This resulted in a non-linear developmental class trajectory for the best male class. Performance in female players showed no divergence point, as the best female class showed consistent linear improvement from 11.5 onwards. These findings could be related to gender-based differences in maturation. Given the linear trajectories and consistently higher overlap percentage, talent identification could be feasible at earlier ages for female compared to male players. 1 Simonton (2001), 2 Brown et al. (2017) , 3 Nijenhuis et al. (2024), 4 Li et al. (2018)
Read CV Koen RikkenECSS Paris 2023: OP-AP25
INTRODUCTION: Introduction As golf continues to expand and benefit from technological innovations, courses are lengthening, making tee-shot distance increasingly critical in competition. Long hitters gain advantages in club selection, greens in regulation (GIR), and putting performance. However, emphasizing distance too heavily may compromise stability and fairway accuracy, particularly if techniques from long-drive contests are applied to formal stroke play. Consequently, professionals must balance power and control, preserving both distance and consistency. METHODS: We analyzed PGA Tour data (2022-2023) from Chinese professional players (n=4, representing all Chinese male players who participated in PGA Tour events during this period) and leading international professional players (n=10, selected based on their consistent ranking within the worlds top 50 and average driving distance exceeding 310 yards). Performance metrics were analyzed using TrackMan and ShotLink systems, focusing on driving distance, accuracy, GIR, and world rankings. RESULTS: The average driving distance for the top 10 professional players worldwide is 313.2 yards, whereas Chinese professional players average 299.0 yards, indicating a distinct advantage for international professional players in terms of driving distance. The average driving accuracy of international professional players is approximately 58.8%, while that of Chinese professional players is approximately 57.2%, both close to the tour average of approximately 59%. Despite the minor difference, an integrated analysis of overall competitive performance and world ranking suggests that driving accuracy has no direct, significant impact on ranking. The top 10 professional players worldwide generally achieve a GIR rate of approximately 70%, whereas Chinese professional players typically achieve approximately 65%, reflecting disparities in technical details and training methodologies. Top 10 professional players driving distance averages 318.8 yards, while those within the top 50 average 312.8 yards, demonstrating a positive correlation between driving distance and higher world rankings. This further confirms the importance of driving distance for overall competitive performance. CONCLUSION: Our analysis indicates that longer driving distance tends to associate with better tournament performance and higher world rankings. Chinese professional players displayed notable differences in driving distance (14.2 yards lower) and GIR (5% lower) compared to top international professional players. Based on these findings, we recommend developing targeted training programs emphasizing strength, flexibility, and swing mechanics, supported by modern technology, to improve driving distance while maintaining consistent accuracy.
Read CV HaoXin YinECSS Paris 2023: OP-AP25