Contextual cues and stance decision-making in tennis forehand professional tennis players

Abstract

In tennis, both open and square stances are used to produce forehands, although few differences have been found between them in terms of biomechanical or ball speed advantages. Hence, it is currently unclear why expert players decide to change their stance during rallies. The objective of this study was to analyze the influence of the context before the stroke on the players’ stance choice. Based on video analysis of men and women professional tennis matches, 2479 stances chosen by twenty players were recorded, considering contextual factors such as “balance of power” and direction of the ball to be played. Results revealed that open stance was used significantly more than square stance in 83.6% of the forehands, with no difference between women and men. These rates varied based on the balance of power, with fewer open stance during favorable situations (65.4%). The direction of the ball played influenced the choice of stance in favorable situations, with fewer open stance being used to play cross court. Taken all together, these results showed an interaction between factors preceding the forehand stroke when adopting a stance in tennis. When players had little time to make a choice, they overwhelmingly used open stances. This choice can be automated, which reduces the attentional load. On the other hand, when they had more time, they varied their type of stance according to the zone being played, with inter-individual differences. The findings could provide valuable insights for coaches to optimize training and improve players’ decision-making efficiency.