Influence of racket on the variability of humerothoracic joint kinematics during tennis serve: a preliminary study

摘要

This study indicated that changes in racket specifications affected the variability of humerothoracic angle patterns. With his own racket, the player made the most of available degrees of freedom through the initial phase to assume the 'ready-to-strike' position. With another racket, the player made motor control easier by eliminating redundant degrees of freedom through fixation or freezing of (some of the) rotation axes of the humerothoracic joint. The findings of this exploratory study would need to be confirmed in a large sample of tennis players. Further work should also be performed to consider the variability of all upper limb joints and to determine the time needed to get accustomed to a new equipment.