Sybase Open Ball Speed (Page 5)

The Net Game

Our study was able to analyze the speed on 10 Sampras volleys as well as 4 overheads. In general, Sampras hit his volleys with an average of about 60% of the pace on his groundstrokes. 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.

This represented a small increase, an average of about 6% more velocity over the speed of the oncoming ball, which had not bounced but had still slowed to an average of 40mph by the time it reached Sampras.

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, slowing from about 45mph on average to about 20mph.

Sampras Forehand Volley:

Number of Forehand Volleys	Pre-Hit Speed	Max MPH After Hit	Pre-Bounce MPH	Post Bounce MPH	End MPH
5	38 MPH	47 MPH	31 MPH	22 MPH	19 MPH
Speed Change	---	+9 MPH	-16 MPH	-9 MPH	-3 MPH
Cumulative Speed Change (From Max After Hit)	---	---	-34%	-53%	-60%

Sampras Backhand Volley:

Number of Backhand Volleys	Pre-Hit Speed	Max MPH After Hit	Pre-Bounce MPH	Post Bounce MPH	End MPH
5	42 MPH	44 MPH	34 MPH	21 MPH	19 MPH
Speed Change	---	+2 MPH	-10 MPH	-13 MPH	-2 MPH
Cumulative Speed Change (From Max After Hit)	---	---	-23%	-52%	-57%