ABSTRACT
Performance analysis research has been carried out on the four main racket sports: tennis, squash, badminton and table tennis. This chapter surveys the research that has been completed since the last main reviews of science and racket sports by Hughes (1998), Lees (2003) and O’Donoghue (2004). Analysis of shot technique has been carried out using kinetic and kinematic analyses, with methods following advances in technology. Technical effectiveness is a broader analysis of tennis performance, assessing winner-to-error ratios and percentages of different point types that are won. Point sequences have been used to investigate momentum, stationarity and independence of points. Tactical analysis has been applied in racket sports using modern eye-tracking systems, as well as more broadly by examining point profiles. The physical demands of racket sports can be estimated using observational techniques, rally and rest timings, heart-rate responses, blood lactate concentration and perceived exertion.
