Ball Speed in Pro Tennis

By John Yandell

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The Groundstrokes

This was in fact almost exactly the same speed the ball was traveling before the hit on Sampras's groundstrokes, an average of 19mph.

Our data showed that 9 Pete Sampras forehands had an average initial velocity of 76mph, with the fastest being 82mph. On the backhand, we measured 2 Sampras hits that averaged 69mph.

This equaled an average increase of over 50mph in the speed of the ball compared to its speed just before the hit, which averaged about 20mph.

The pattern of deceleration on the groundstrokes closely matched that of the serve and return. On average Sampras's groundstrokes started at about 70-75mph and finished at about 30mph.

Sampras Forehand:

Sampras Backhand:

The Net Game

Our study was able to analyze the speed on 10 Sampras volleys as well as 4 overheads. Five forehand volleys had an average initial speed of 47mph, with the highest hit at 60mph. On the backhand side, 5 volleys averaged 44mph with a high of 54mph. In general, then the volleys had about 60% of the initial pace on his groundstrokes.

His volleys left his racket consistently faster than the speed of the incoming ball. The average incoming ball was traveling about 40 mph at the time of the hit, for an increase of around 5mph.

The deceleration pattern on the volleys followed that of the other strokes. On average the volleys lost about half their initial speed after the bounce, and almost 60% of their speed by the end of their flight. This means that a volley that started out at around 45mph slowed down to about 20mph at the time of the next hit.

Sampras Forehand Volley:

Sampras Backhand Volley:

The Overhead

We were also about to capture and track the speed of 4 overheads, which rounded out a very complete picture of ball speed in Pete's game. The initial speed on the Sampras overhead approached the speed on his first serve, averaging 110mph on the 4 overheads measured, with a high of 118mph.

The Overhead We were also about to capture and track the speed of 4 overheads, which rounded out a very complete picture of ball speed in Pete's game. The initial speed on the Sampras overhead approached the speed on his first serve, averaging 110mph on the 4 overheads measured, with a high of 118mph.

Sampras Overhead:

Summary

Due to the brilliant work by Nasif, this study gave us the first understanding of the general parameters of ball speed at the highest levels of pro tennis. As we already knew from the radar guns, points begin in pro tennis with serves traveling at 120mph or more. But the speed of a 120mph serve slows to around 55mph by the time of the return.

The return in tennis can either increase or reduce the speed of the ball, so that it begins its flight back to the server at between 50-70mph. By the time the return reaches the server, the speed of the return has fallen into the 20-30mph range.

The initial speed on the groundstrokes ranged on average between 60 and 80mph, but again the ball slows to 30mph or less over the course of the flight. The volleys, hit in the air before the bounce, usually register 40-60mph coming off the racket, compared to abouty 40mph for the oncoming ball. Overheads can approach the speed of the serve, averaging well over 100mph and ranging up to as high as 120mph.

In the broadest terms we can say that the ball loses around 25-30% of its speed in tennis before it bounces, and another 20-25% after the bounce, for a total loss of about 50% between the hit and the bounce. Before the opponent strikes the ball, the shot can lose up to another 10% of its top speed. This means that over the flight of the shot, it loses at least 50% -- 60% of its total initial speed.

SUMMARY: Ball Speed

Teaching Implications

We think that the high shot velocity of pro tennis is one of the greatest difficulties for players--dealing with the frightening pace of a first serve from Andy Roddick or a huge forehand from Agassi, Safin, or Moya.

What our study suggests however is that the problem of timing the ball in tennis is more complex than that. Not only must the players deal with shots that routinely travel over 100mph, they must deal with radical changes in shot speed, changes that happen in fractions of a second and are in fact invisible to the human eye. A first serve in pro tennis decelerates from 120mph to 60mph or less in two thirds of a second, losing most of it's speed after the bounce in the critical instant a player actually makes his return.

So one problem is dealing with the deceleration, but a second equally difficult challenge is timing the ball when the range of initial speeds varies so much. they must deal with a very wide range of initial shot speeds. The ball may be traveling 120mph when it leaves the racket on the serve. But it's initial speed is only one third as high on a volley, around 40 mph. So the rhythm and timing of hitting a passing shot off a volley is radically different from that of a return.

This all suggests that the real key to timing is focusing on the changing speed of the ball. This means feeling the speed of the ball off the racket and then tracking the path as it decelerates. This process is most critical after the bounce when every shot loses the most speed.

Have you ever had the experience of consistently miss timing big serves? A common tendency is to panic, swing too early, and actually get of the ball. Knowing about the deceleration pattern gives you a key to overcome this. Because the ball loses so much speed when it hits the court, the returner has about 1/3 of his total time to make the return after the bounce.

By focusing on the ball trajectory and especially the critical component after the ball bounces, you can get in sync with the radical speed changes in the shot, and adjust your timing to the actual speed of the exchanges with your opponent, no matter what your level. This will work on the return where the ball speed is the highest. It will also help solve the problem at the other end of the spectrum--getting over anxious on the slow "easy" balls most people feel they should put away, but often miss.

The problem with the slow ball is that you have more time--more time to think--and especially, more time after the bounce when the slow ball slows down even more. Focus on watching the ball at the bounce--and especially, as it approaches the top of the bounce just before the hit. The results can be miraculous.

Here's one personal example of how it can work. After we first developed our results, I shared them with a fellow teaching pro and practice partner. Then we experimented with his return. He decided to key on watching the bounce on the court and the trajectory of the ball between the bounce and the hit. I served points in a game to 11. Although he usually returns well anyway, the first time he tried this key, it was amazing. He literally couldn't miss. Usually I can get at least some free points against him with my serve--but this time none at all. He began ripping return winners on both first and second serves. It felt like I couldn't win a point on my own serve. "I had chills going up and down my spine," he reported. "I had total confidence I could make the return, but it went beyond that because I also felt I could do anything I wanted with the ball."

Try it for yourself, and let us know what you think. In the next article, we'll share our results from a similar study we did regarding the spin levels in pro tennis--something else that had never been previously studied.