The days of tennis as a country club sport for the aristocracy have long passed, as have the pre-Open era days when black players faced long odds just to be invited to the four Grand Slam events. An ...entire generation of sports fans has grown up seeing Venus and Serena Williams as the gold standard in American professional tennis. Although the Williams sisters have done more than any other players to make tennis accessible to a diverse population, it's not as if the tennis revolution is over. When you watch tennis next, take a close look at the umpire, the person sitting in the high chair of authority at courtside. Look at the tournament referee and the tournament director, the officials who run the tournament. In those seats of power and influence, blacks are still woefully underrepresented. Different Strokes chronicles the rise of the Williams sisters, as well as other champions of color, closely examining how African Americans are collectively faring in tennis, on the court and off. Despite the success of the Williams sisters and the election of former pro player Katrina Adams as the U.S. Tennis Association's first black president, top black players still receive racist messages via social media and sometimes in public. The reality is that while significant progress has been made in the sport, much work remains before anything resembling equality is achieved.
Tennis is a sport characterized by a discontinuous series of intense, brief efforts with explosive phases alternating with periods of recovery.1 Anaerobic evaluation is performed only in tennis ...players on the field, because laboratory assessments are not specific for this sport and only measure one component of the anaerobic capacity.2 In Mexico, a system for measuring neuromuscular qualities (MICHECEVI) has been developed base on shortening-stretching cycle method. MICHECEVI evaluates different components of the anaerobic capacity (speed, strength and power) and reaction times. Therefore our hypothesis was that the use of strength platform based on the MICHECEVI method is useful for discerning the differences in anaerobic capacity among professional tennis players and controls. A sample of 20 high-performance tennis players of different categories (infantile, cadet, sub 20 and Davis Cup) and a sample of 20 young sedentary healthy controls in the same age that elite athletes were used. The evaluation was carried out on the strength platform with visual and auditory interface controlled by specific software. The evaluations of short reaction times were determined by the smaller displacement on the platform after a visual or auditory stimulus. In case of long reaction times, the largest vertical displacement was evaluated after a stimulus. Finally absolute and relative anaerobic power was evaluated through a series of 20 continuous vertical jumps. The tennis players had lower short reaction times, being the only statistically significant auditory (174.15 vs. 232.3 milliseconds, p & ge;0.05). The short visual reaction time was lower but not statistically significant (p > 0.05). Both visual (504.1 14 vs. 441 15 milliseconds, p & ge;0.05) and auditory long reaction times (395.7 20.6 vs. 474.5 13 milliseconds, p & ge;0.05) were longer in tennis players than in sedentary controls. Jump height was statistically higher in tennis players (31.75 1.6 cm) than in controls (25.99 1.17 cm). Anaerobic absolute power was greatest in tennis players reaching 833.6 57 Watts, the control group only development 644.9 57 Watts (p & ge;0.05). Anaerobic relative power generated by the tennis players was higher (13.86 0.6 W/kg) than controls (11.2 0.7 W/kg), (p & ge;0.05). Abstract P-95 Figure 1 (A) Auditory and visual reaction times. (B) Absolute and (C) Relative power in sedentary controls and athletes using MICHECEVI method. MICHECEVI is a quantitative and objective method that identifies the anaerobic capacity in tennis players. It is an excellent tool for training medical control. Due to its technical-methodological characteristics it can be applied to a large number and subjects with immediate results in several anaerobic sports. Kovacs MS. Tennis physiology: Training the competitive athlete. Sports Med. 2007;37:189–198. Fernandez-Fernandez J, Ulbricht A, Ferrauti A. Fitness testing of tennis players: How valuable is it? Br J Sports Med. 2014;48(Suppl 1):i22–31.
At the US Open this year, tennis players will be faced with a serve clock, giving them 25 seconds to take their first shot. The clock is intended to speed up pace of play. However, analysis by ...Stephanie Kovalchik suggests the timer will make little difference
At the US Open this year, tennis players will be faced with a serve clock, giving them 25 seconds to take their first shot. The clock is intended to speed up pace of play. However, analysis by Stephanie Kovalchik suggests the timer will make little difference
The goal of this study was to analyze the differences in table tennis games between winning and losing players, considering changes of rules. The data taken from four major rule changes in 122 games ...between 244 players in the period 1996-2015 were analyzed. Performance indicators were 30 technical and tactical activities (type, total number, and stroke outcome) as well as serve and return activities (type, total number, serve outcome, and return outcome). A Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon nonparametric test (p≤0.05) was done. The results showed that the number of strokes per points considering change of rules varied, while domination of forehand play remained. The existence of statistically significant differences between winners and losers in all the analyzed periods: playing with a 38 mm ball to 21 points in eight activities, playing with a 40 mm ball till 21 points in one activity, playing with a 40 mm ball till 11 points in seven activities, and playing with new racket coverings in 14 activities were noted. The results showed the existence of different playing patterns, styles of play, and performance profiles for winning. Nowadays, players use, to a larger extent, different ways to win, but the effectiveness of the serve and return play gained importance.
A 23-times Grand Slam Champion and ranked #1 over ten consecutive years - Serena Williams is the ultimate champion. This innovative illustrated biography explores her tennis like never before.
The United States Tennis Association is an in-depth look at the history of the United States Tennis Association (USTA) and how this sports organization has helped cultivate and organize tennis in the ...United States over the past 135 years. Starting as a group of elite white men from country clubs in the Northeast, the organization has become the largest tennis association in the world, with women in top leadership positions and an annual revenue of well over $300 million. The USTA was key in establishing the Open Era in tennis in 1968, when professionals began competing with amateurs in Grand Slam events; for expanding the game in the United States during the 1970s tennis boom; and for establishing the U.S. Open as one of the most prestigious and largest-attended sports events in the world. Unique among sports-governing bodies, the USTA is a mostly volunteer-run organization that, along with a paid professional staff, manages and governs tennis at the local level across the United States and owns and operates the U.S. Open. The association participates directly in the International Tennis Federation, manages U.S. participation in international tennis competitions (Fed Cup and Davis Cup), and interacts with professional tennis within the United States. The story of how tennis is managed by the nation's largest cadre of volunteers in any sport is one of sports' best untold stories. With access to the private records of the USTA, Warren F. Kimball tells an engaging and rich history of how tennis has been managed and governed in the United States.
Legendary tennis player Billie Jean King details the remarkable history of women's tennis in this stunning edition of Trailblazers: The Unmatched Story of Womens Tennis.In celebration of the Women's ...Tennis Association's 50th anniversary, this updated and expanded editionbased on the 1988 original We Have Come a Long Way: The Story of Womens Tennisincludes more than 250 photographs and 33 years' worth of stories about inspiring women and their achievements. The book arrives 53 years after King and eight other women players broke with the male tennis establishment and launched their own professional tour.With this gorgeous, photographically forward, and deeply moving ode to women's tennis, King and coauathor Cynthia Star will continue the remarkable story in which King has played such an integral role, shedding new light on barriers that were overcome and milestones that were achieved. Women's tennis today has never been more popular across the globe and, as this book demonstrates, has never been more diverse and inclusive.
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