Correlational Analysis of A Serve With Hand-Eye Laterality Profile Among Professional Tennis Players in Chennai

Background: Tennis serve is a crucial and complex technique. It demands a sense of timing to make precise ball-racket contact when the player tosses the ball in the air. Hand-eye laterality is one major factor that decides this contact's quality, if not the overall gameplay. Earlier studies have estimated that a contralateral hand-eye profile is seen more in professional athletes compared to the normal population. However, analysing the serve based on the players’ laterality profile is necessary to conclude if it plays a role in accuracy or not. Objective: The analysis aims to determine the importance of hand-eye laterality profile in a tennis serve in case of accuracy among professional players. Methodology: A group of professional tennis players was made to perform the Dominant Eye Test, according to which they were divided into two batches: A and B. Batch A comprised of players with ipsilateral profile (same side hand-eye profile), and batch B comprised of players with contralateral profile (opposite side hand-eye profile). The players were asked to demonstrate 4 types of serves based on the court markings: 1. A basic serve inside the serve box, 2. A serve towards the outer corner of the serve box (wide serve), 3. A serve towards the inner corner of the serve box (down the T) and 4. A serve towards the outer corner of the serve box with the player standing on the side where his/her dominant hand is placed opposite to the serve box (cross serve). Each serve was demonstrated 5 times by each player. Based on the number of serves placed correctly for each type out of 5 demonstrations, the accuracy of the serve was determined. Result and Conclusion: The study concludes that hand-eye laterality plays a role in accuracy of a tennis serve in a cross, wide and down the T variation.