Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare the differences of the serve placements (wide, body and T) and related performance of top male tennis players during match in hard court (2006 US Open) and clay court (2006 French Open). Methods: We colleted raw data about serve figures of third round to final of men's single from 2006 US Open and 2006 French Open official web sites, and the data was analyzed by independent t-test and two-way ANOVA with mixed design. Results: For the first serve placement on different courts, there was interaction effect of deuce court and advantage court (p<.05); however, there was no significant difference in first serve winning percentage. Moreover, during second serve, there was interaction effect of advantage court in different surface courts (p<.05). In addition, ace was higher in hard court than clay court (Ace: 8.4±5.42 vs. 5.3±3.95%; p<.05). Conclusions: Elite male tennis players changed serve placements on different court surface during match and had higher Ace probabilities in hard court. The present findings indicate that players would have different serve strategies based on type of court surface.
Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare the differences of the serve placements (wide, body and T) and related performance of top male tennis players during match in hard court (2006 US Open) and clay court (2006 French Open). Methods: We colleted raw data about serve figures of third round to final of men's single from 2006 US Open and 2006 French Open official web sites, and the data was analyzed by independent t-test and two-way ANOVA with mixed design. Results: For the first serve placement on different courts, there was interaction effect of deuce court and advantage court (p<.05); however, there was no significant difference in first serve winning percentage. Moreover, during second serve, there was interaction effect of advantage court in different surface courts (p<.05). In addition, ace was higher in hard court than clay court (Ace: 8.4±5.42 vs. 5.3±3.95%; p<.05). Conclusions: Elite male tennis players changed serve placements on different court surface during match and had higher Ace probabilities in hard court. The present findings indicate that players would have different serve strategies based on type of court surface.