Preparation stage

 

The stance is essential for the serve as it provides the athletes with stability and helps maintain balance throughout the service sequence. To achieve optimal balance throughout the serve the athlete must maintain a centre of mass lies within the base of support​. If the centre of mass moves outside the bass support, the athletes balance will become unstable hence balance will not be obtained (Blazevich, 2017).

Following a stable stance, the athlete utilises kinetic chain to ensure a steady transfer of momentum. Kinetic chain refers to a series of interrelated links or segments (Ellenbecker & Aoki, 2020). In terms of tennis this refers to the athletes stance which then moves into generating momentum through their lower limbs to produce upward forsumation through their trunk. The force of the legs and trunk are found to produce 54% of force generation, compared to only 25% from the elbow and wrist (Ellenbecker & Aoki, 2020). Furthermore, the kinetic chain continues through the upper limbs(shoulders) as internal rotation occurs and the acceleration of the remaining stages of the serve continue.

The commonly used terms for the movement sequence of throwing and the beginning of acceleration is ‘loading’ and ‘cocking’ and displayed in figure 2.

Figure 2: (Roetert et al., 2009) sequential motion of the tennis serve.

Injury prevention: undesired performance and increased risk of injury occur in tennis and other sport activities with similar characteristics, when athletes attempt to utilize the smaller muscles and distal arm segments as a primary source for power generation (Ellenbecker & Aoki, 2020). Therefore, utilising leg drive will minimise injury risk and optimise performance outcomes.

Conclusion of preparation phase:

The preparation stage is an essential phase as asserting a stable base of support can provide optimal balance and stability for the remainder of the serve. Utilising the kinetic chain and the use of leg drive, creates a good foundation for increasing velocity of the serve.