As part of the 2018 World Tennis Fitness Conference, the International Tennis Performance Association hosted a half day Summit on Tennis Technology and Analytics. The purpose behind the Summit was to bring practical experts together to discuss the State of the Tennis Industry and provides some recommendations for the future.
 
“The Science of Today is the Technology of Tomorrow”
The growth of technology and analytics in all sports has grown exponentially in the last decade. The tennis industry has embraced many aspects of technology and analytics, but also has many areas that continue to be developed to improve the sport in all the various areas.
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Tennis Needs Innovation
The first step in innovation is understanding where the areas of strength and the areas of opportunity exist. To improve technology and analytics in the sport of tennis, it is paramount to bring together the best minds in the industry and focus on what we currently do well and what we can improve on.
 
The Tennis Technology and Analytics Summit presented by the International Tennis Performance Association (iTPA) was hosted in Atlanta, Georgia on July 22nd, 2018.
The first of its kind, Tennis Specific Technology and Analytics Summit focused on the evidence around quality technologies to help teach, train and test tennis athletes. This summit was a think tank event bringing together some of the top minds in the industry to highlight products followed by panel discussions and moderated sessions focused on how to better utilize current technology/analytics and create a roadmap for the future of the sport to improve the use of technology going forward. 
 
The Summit Had A Few Simple Objectives:

• Highlight the latest tennis technologies that can assist individuals working with tennis athletes in various areas of performance and injury prevention.
• Provide a vehicle for companies in the technology and analytics space to network with the leading minds in the tennis industry to speed the progress of technological innovations in the tennis industry.
• Provide networking opportunities to spur more research and technology development to improve the quality of products and the implementation of existing products. ​
• Develop a consensus document at the end of the Summit which will be circulated throughout the tennis industry to stimulate growth, investment and sales in the areas of data driven and research backed technologies that can improve performance and reduce the likelihood of injuries in the sport at all levels of the game. 

The Big Questions for the Tennis Industry:

Beginning an industry wide analysis focused on athlete monitoring software and hardware:

• What's being done with tennis technology?
• What do we want to target?
• Is the tennis industry accepting of the advances in new technologies and providing a network to embrace new technologies?
• Is the tech providing better information and better outcomes than what's been done in the past? 

The professionals at the summit agreed that SIMPLICITY was the most important factor for a technology to be adopted by tennis coaches at any level. It would be advisable for any technology to have the ability to turn quantitative data into actionable information that can be easily combined with qualitative data, as tennis coaches tend to be more visually oriented. Any technology needs to make a coach or player’s life easier – only then will they adopt it into their training routine. At the same time, the tech needs to give useful quantitative data to a more tech minded individuals in the tennis industry.
 
The future is bright for Technology and Analytics in tennis. The International Tennis Performance Association thanks all the experts and attendees at the Tennis Technology and Analytics Summit for sharing their expertise and experiences which has helped to move the tennis industry forward. It requires forward thinking individuals with a passion for excellence to help us all achieve high performance results.

 
The International Tennis Performance Association would like to thank the individuals who were involved as expert panelists and moderators for the Summit:

Charles Cox, SwingU
Alexander Johannson, Tennis Techie
Mark Kovacs, (PhD, FACSM, CSCS*D, CTPS, MTPS), iTPA and Kovacs Institute
Warren Pretorius, Tennis Analytics
Paul Robbins, Sport Tech Consultant
Jason D. Vescovi (PhD, CSCS, CEP), High Performance Expert
 
Here is the link the full PDF of the White Paper

Here is the link to the iTPA Tennis Technology Company List. This is an ongoing project through the ITPA which lists the major companies in the Tennis Industry in the area of technology and analytics. This list is consistently being updated, and we recognize that this is never a complete list. If you are involved with a company that has a quality product that can help a tennis club, tennis athlete, tennis coach, tennis administrator we would like to add it to our list. Please email us with the information at [email protected]

By Ollie Stephens, CTPS, MTPS

The World Tennis Fitness Conference has quickly become an integral part of the calendar of many tennis coaches, physical therapists, athletic trainers, strength & conditioning coaches, chiropractors and medical doctor’s calendar.  I was lucky enough to be involved in this year’s conference as a moderator and as a speaker in a panel discussion, which also included Dr. Larry Lauer and Dr. Jeff Chandler.  We discussed the team approach in developing a tennis player and to be on stage with two of the industry’s most recognized experts was a really fun experience for me personally and something I will never forget. 

As I spent the weekend listening to lectures from some of the world’s most foremost tennis experts, a couple of things became plainly obvious to me:

Firstly, the word that springs to mind was QUALITY.  The standard of the speakers was second to none.  From Martin Blackman, Allistair McCaw, Loren Landow, Dr. Mark Kovacs, Page Love, Dr. Dom Lausic etc., the list was a who’s who in the Tennis Fitness Industry.  Every single presentation exuded quality and was a clear example of just how serious the iTPA is about raising the standard of coach’s education in the U.S.A. and Internationally.  As an example, I had never heard of Loren Landow before.  However, after his presentation on Speed and Movement training, I will certainly be following his work from now on.  To hear from someone who regularly trains NFL, MMA, NBA and professional tennis players was a real treat and his wealth of information was truly world class. 

The second thing that really struck a cord with me was the quality of the attendees.  All of the people attending the conference were themselves at the top end of the tennis industry and the networking opportunities and exchange of ideas was worth the cost of the conference alone.  Just getting to know great coaches like Rob Carlbo, Jenny Walls-Robb and Jim Harp has been such a boost to my career, these professionals are such an inspiration to be around and to be able to pick their brains has been so much fun.  So many great coaches and trainers where in attendance including individuals from Harvard University, Princeton University, The University of Michigan, The University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill (UNC), Auburn University, The University of Alabama, Georgia Tech, Georgia State University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Carnegie Melon among many others.

There were so many nuggets of information that I took from this year’s conference.  Some take homes which I felt especially helpful were:

·        Loren Landow explaining the importance of first step speed and the ability to move effectively in all directions. 

·        Allistair McCaw showing his great warm up routine that he uses with all his junior and professional tennis players, including his HBHA routine (Hips Before, Hips After).

·        Lalo Vicencio, always a favorite, showing some great lateral movement patterns and single leg stability exercises for junior tennis players.  Showing some great ways to teach younger athletes how to decelerate safely. 

·        Page Love explaining the best way to make sure your players have proper nutrition when they travel abroad, including some easy snacks that you can take with you to foreign destinations such as “Go Picnic,” ready to eat meals

To conclude, I have been to many conferences, all over the world.  In my opinion, the World Tennis Fitness Conference is already one of the best, if not, THE best educational opportunity for anyone interested in off court tennis training.   A huge thanks must go to the International Tennis Performance Association, Mark and Mary Jo Kovacs and all of their staff for creating such a great event. 

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www.itpa-tennis.org

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