The Science of Tennis

Why is it called a service?

Because the task of beginning a rally was carried out by a servant for his master. The canny player might have used this to his advantage: "Ah, my good Lord Salisbury, I am so looking forward to the game. Have you met my servant, Sampras?"

Playing the Moldovans at Tennis by Tony Hawks

Cooke Associates, in association with the Lawn Tennis Association's Coach Education programme, has produced an educational resource for tennis coaches: The Science of Tennis. This CD-ROM covers the science and engineering of rackets, balls, shoes, surfaces and ball flight simulation.

The CD-ROM was launched at the LTA Club Coaches' Conference in August 2003.

CD-ROM contents:
  • Introduction
  • Link to Reference Library
  • Links to interactive modules (rackets, balls, shoes, surfaces, SportSim)
  • Frequently asked questions from coaches
  • Teacher pages
  • About Cooke Associates
  • About LTA
  • Useful websites
  • Acknowledgments
Interactive modules:

Racket – Howard Brody

  • Design and Construction
  • Strings
  • Power
  • Sweet spots
  • Vibration
  • Lateral (side-to-side) errors
  • Ball Spin generation

Racket selection tools - Crawford Lindsey

  • Twistweight customisation
  • Swingweight customisation
  • Balance customisation
  • Combined weight, balance, swingweight customisation
  • Ball velocity of shots
  • Determining the ACOR of your racquet
  • Shots using ACOR

Shoes – Sharon Dixon

  • Design and Construction
  • Cushioning (includes force and pressure measurement)
  • Traction (includes friction definition)
  • Stability (includes moment definition)

Courts and Surfaces – Sharon Dixon

  • Design and Construction
  • Cushioning (includes force measurement)
  • Traction (includes friction definition)

Balls – Jani Macari Pallis and Duane Knudson

  • Design and Construction
  • Flight (aerodynamics)
  • Flight control
  • Bounce

SportSim – Timothy Moran

  • Simulation of ball flight
Purchase

This CD-ROM is available from the LTA Coach Education department and SEP resources. To find out more, please contact Cooke Associates.

The contributors to this project are: