The purpose of this study was to determine the association between the body height (BH) of elite tennis players and their serve speeds: SF (fastest serve in a match), S1 (average speed of the first serve in a match), and S2 (average speed of the second serve in a match). Data were collected from the world's best tennis players who participated in all four Grand Slam tournaments in 2008 (men, n=78-84, BH=1.85±0.07m; women, n=70-78, BH=1.73±0.07m). Statistically significant correlations (r) between BH and serve speed were found in all 24 statistical analyses (p<0.01). The correlation coefficients were similar in men and women. The correlation coefficients of BH with SF and S1 ranged 0.48-0.64 for men and 0.48-0.59 for women. The correlations between BH and S2 were weaker and more variable (r=0.20-0.50 for men and 0.24-0.42 for women). The BH of the men explained 27%, 30%, and 14% of the variance of SF, S1, and S2, respectively, with corresponding values for female players of 27%, 27%, and 12%.
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