Technical and timing characteristics of badminton men’s single: comparison between groups and play-offs stages in 2016 Rio Olympic Games

The Influence of Technical and Contextual Variables of the Last Stroke on Point Outcome in Men's and Women's Singles Badminton

The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of the technical and context-related variables of last strokes in rallies on the point outcomes of both men’s and women’s players in elite singles badminton matches. A total of 100 matches during the 2018 and 2019 seasons were analyzed, and the data of 4,080 men’s rallies and 4,339 women’s rallies were collected. The technical variables including strokes per rally, forehand strokes, overhead strokes, and defensive action, and the context-related variables including game status, result against serve, importance of rally, and importance of set, were modeled with Probit regression modeling as the predictor variables. The binary variables of “winner or not” and “error or not” were considered the response variables. The results showed that defensive actions had the greatest impacts on the winners and errors of both the men’s and women’s singles players, and the forehand and overhead strokes were negatively associated with the winners and errors of the women’s singles players and the winners of the men’s singles players. No significant effects were found for the strokes per rally on the winners and errors of the men’s singles players, while significant effects were found for the women’s singles players. The context-related variables appeared to have positive effects on the winners and negative effects on the errors of both sexes. These findings can provide important insights for coaches and players to evaluate their performances of last strokes in rallies and to improve training interventions and match tactics and strategies.

Comparison of service tactic formation on players' movements and point outcome between national and beginner level padel

The aim of this study was to analyze the influence of service tactic formation on players’ movements and point outcome at two different performance levels. The sample contained 2,148 points corresponding to 18 matches from two male padel indoor tournaments. Players were classified according to their game level: high-level (N = 36; age = 33.3 ± 6.9 years) and beginner (N = 36; age = 35.4 ± 6.8 years). Variables pertaining to service tactic formation (conventional or Australian), point outcome and movement patterns were analysed from the matches through systematic observation. The results showed how high-level players used a significantly higher percentage of the Australian formation than beginners. Also, high-level players won a significantly higher percentage of points than recreational players when using both service tactics. According to movement variables, servers were significantly closer to the net and the side wall using a conventional formation when the returner hit the ball. Furthermore, servers had to move quicker when they used the Australian formation. Finally, the comparison of movement patterns of servers according to game level, showed how high-level players ran faster to the offensive position, covered a greater distance and spent less time between serve and return impacts than beginners.

Recognition of Badminton Shot Action Based on the Improved Hidden Markov Model

In recent years, with the rapid development of sports, the number of people playing various sports is increasing day by day. Among them, badminton has become one of the most popular sports because of the advantages of fewer restrictions on the field and ease of learning. This paper develops a wearable sports activity classification system for accurately recognizing badminton actions. A single acceleration sensor fixed on the end of the badminton racket handle is used to collect the data of the badminton action. The sliding window segmentation technique is used to extract the hitting signal. An improved hidden Markov model (HMM) is developed to identify standard 10 badminton strokes. These include services, forehand chop, backhand chop the goal, the forehand and backhand, forehand drive, backhand push the ball, forehand to pick, pick the ball backhand, and forehand. The experimental results show that the model designed can recognize ten standard strokes in real time. Compared with the traditional HMM, the average recognition rate of the improved HMM is improved by 7.3%. The comprehensive recognition rate of the final strokes can reach up to 95%. Therefore, this model can be used to improve the competitive level of badminton players.

Sport Performance Analysis with a Focus on Racket Sports: A Review

Athletes, both professional and amateur, are always looking for ways to improve their performance. With the introduction and increasing availability of modern technologies and smart devices arose the need to measure and analyze performance, but likewise, the use of these innovations as a competitive advantage also arose. Scientific publications reflect the wide range of available approaches and technologies, as well as the growing interest in various sports. As a result, we concentrated on a systematic review of publications that presented performance analysis tools and methods in all sports, with a final focus on racket sports. Clarivate Analytics’ Web of Science (WoS) and Elsevier Inc.’s SCOPUS databases were searched for 1147 studies that conducted performance analysis and sports research and were published in English. The data in the systematic review are current, up until 18 May 2021. A general review was performed on 759 items, and then 65 racket sports publications were thoroughly scrutinized. We concentrated on performance data, data collection and analysis tools, performance analysis methods, and software. We also talked about performance prediction. In performance research, we have identified specific approaches for specific sports as well as key countries. We are also considering expanding performance analysis in to E-sports in the future.

Competitive Evolution of Professional Wheelchair Tennis from the Paralympic Games in Athens 2004 to Rio 2016: An Observational Study

The aim of this study was to analyse and compare the activity pattern and technical-tactical parameters of men's wheelchair tennis matches from the Paralympic Games (PG) in Athens 2004 (A), Beijing 2008 (B), London 2012 (L) and Rio 2016 (R). A total of 5702 shots from twelve final round matches were analysed. Activity patterns (e.g., rally duration, shots per rally…) and technical effectivity (e.g., errors, winners…) were recorded. An ANOVA test with post hoc pairwise comparisons was conducted to compare the mean differences among matches of different PG. Game duration, points and shots per game differed according to the PG (R and L > B and A). Rally duration (p < 0.001) and shots per rally (p < 0.001) were longer at R and L than B and A. The effectivity of the last shots was different, the errors have been increasing and the winners have been decreasing. The main finding indicates that activity patterns and technical parameters have evolved mainly between A and B to L and R. This study gives an overview of the development of the sport over time, and coaches can use this information to adapt their training sessions to the current needs of the competition.

Players' On-Court Movements and Contextual Variables in Badminton World Championship

This study aimed to analyze the elite badminton players' on-court movements related to contextual variables (game, round, and match status). A total of 18 matches of the Jakarta 2015 World Championship (1,273 points and 5,710 play actions) were examined by univariate and bivariate analyses. Significant differences were found when comparing the players' on-court movements related to game, round, and match status (p < 0.05). All movements were executed more frequently in game 2, with the exception of diagonal large backward left (DLBL), diagonal short backward left (DSBL), diagonal short backward right (DSBR), and longitudinal short backward (LSB). The results obtained related to the round showed that longitudinal large backward (LLB) was the most frequent footwork in R1/16 and R1/2, diagonal short forward left (DSFL) was the most frequent one for R1/4, and transversal short right (TSR) was the most used movement for the final round. According to match status, no movement (NM) was the most common situation before hitting the shuttlecock at any moment during the match. This study shows how contextual variables modulate the elite players' on-court movements. This information could be valuable for coaches and players, allowing them to better understand the players' behavior in a competition, which could be used to design more specific training tasks and prepare match strategies in order to improve the players' performance in competitions.

Notational Comparison Analysis of Outdoor Badminton Men's Single and Double Matches

The objectives of this study were to determine the results of the analysis of single and double outdoor badminton men’s matches and to determine the relationship between technical and tactical aspects in a study organized by the BWF (Badminton Word Federation), on a sand surface. Twenty men’s singles matches were recorded using video cameras and analysed with a Dartfish video analysis software package. Along with this, percentages of use of technical elements were analysed by comparing the different modalities. For the single format Lob, Clear, Drop, Smash, Drive were used, different from the double format that used Lob, Clear, Drop, Smash, Drive. The study confirmed the applicability of computerized notation analysis to determine the characteristics of Outdoor Badminton on sand.

Changes in Duration and Intensity of the World's Top-Level Badminton Matches: A Consideration of the Increased Acute Injuries among Elite Women's Singles Players

The purpose of this study was to clarify whether there have been any specific changes in the characteristics of the world’s top-level women’s singles badminton matches compared to men’s singles matches after the current badminton scoring system was implemented in 2006. We compared the characteristics of the matches between the Super Series tournaments in 2007 and 2017. Match duration increased as the rally and rest times increased in both men’s and women’s singles matches. Specifically, in women’s singles, it was suggested that a further increase in physical demands because of the increased number of shots per second may have resulted in longer rest time in proportion to rally time. Moreover, increases in match duration (final eight, 53.3 ± 6.6 min; early rounds, 42.1 ± 3.6 min; P < 0.05) and number of shots per rally (final eight, 10.4 ± 1.2; early rounds, 8.7 ± 1.1; P < 0.05) in women’s singles were more prominent in the final eight rounds (quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals) than in the early rounds (rounds 1 and 2). The recent changes in characteristics of the world’s top-level badminton matches may account for the increased acute injuries that are frequently observed in elite women’s singles players. Thus, appropriate training programs are crucial to effectively improve performance and prevent injuries among elite badminton players.

Serving Patterns of Women's Badminton Medalists in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games

The aim of the present study was to describe and identify the serving performance profiles of medalists during an elite women’s badminton tournament taking notational and temporal variables into account. The sample was composed of the 14 matches (n = 1,052 rallies) played by the three medalists during the 2016 women’s singles Olympic Games badminton event (Rio, Brazil). The independent variable studied was serving player (medalist/opponent); while the dependent variables were related to notational analysis: serve type, set, and point won by the server/receiver; and the time-related variables: number of strokes per rally, rally time, rest time, and frequency of strokes. The main results showed that: (i) temporal parameters were similar for total match duration but shorter for rally time, and longer for rest time and with more strokes per rally than found in previous research; (ii) the serve effectiveness showed neutral values when analyzing serving by all the players, medalists, and opponents (around 50%); (iii) the two-step cluster analysis identified how successful players used the serve when playing short rallies with backhand short and flick serves (cluster 1), and forehand long serves (cluster 2); and during long rallies with the use of the backhand short serve, forehand short serve and forehand long serve (cluster 3). On the other hand, medalists and their opponents used forehand long serves during set 1 with durations of 8.80 s (cluster 5); and the opponents showed an independent performance using the forehand short serve during sets 1 and 2 (cluster 4); and (iv) the classification tree analysis (Exhaustive CHAID) identified the importance of different serving patterns with the gold medal player using more backhand and forehand flick serves, and the main use of backhand short serves during sets 1 and 2 in all the tournament stages. The bronze medalist used more forehand long serves during all sets, and the silver medalist showed a mixed performance of serves using the forehand short serve, the backhand short serve and the forehand long serve. The current findings may help coaches and players to manage different serving and playing patterns during training and matches according to the serve and rally requirements.

Performance Differences of Temporal Parameters and Point Outcome between Elite Men's and Women's Badminton Players According to Match-Related Contexts

Background: the aim of the present study was to identify the temporal and notational performance differences between elite men’s and women’s badminton players according to match type and set. Methods: the sample was composed of 60 men’s and 60 women’s matches classified by match type or duration: short (lower quartile), long (upper quartile) and regular matches (interquartile range). Temporal and notational variables were analysed for each match and compared between sexes accounting for match duration. Results: greater intensity for most variables (i.e., rally time, rest time, density, and strokes per match/rally) was exhibited in men’s matches compared with women’s matches (i.e., higher frequency between strokes). In addition, the greater intensity for men compared to women was more pertinent during long matches (13 significant variables) and less evident during short matches (six significant variables). Point outcome displayed similar trends for each sex during matches with more winners for men’s players when serving and more unforced errors for women’s players. Lastly, based on each match type, fewer sex differences were noted during sets 2 and 3, as the match progressed. Conclusion: men’s players performed at a greater intensity than women’s players for different match and set contexts, with this sex difference enhanced when controlling for match type and set. The development of sex- and match-specific scenarios will assist coaches and trainers in the design of specific training drills to enhance the athletic performance of elite badminton players.

Statistical Differences in Set Analysis in Badminton at the RIO 2016 Olympic Games

The aim of the present study was to determine statistical differences in a set of badminton competition matches in five different modalities with regard to competition level (Group Phase vs. Eliminatory Phase). Data from 453 sets (125 in men’s singles; 108 sets in women’s singles; 77 sets in men’s doubles; 73 in women’s doubles and 70 in mixed doubles) from the RIO 2016 Olympics Games were recorded and classified in two groups of variables to analyze variables related to match (5) and set (15). A descriptive analysis and univariate test (Mann–Whitney U) for non-parametric data were conducted. The results show in men’s and women’s singles all the variables related to match were higher in the Elimination Phase than in the Group Phase (p < 0.01). In Sets 1 and 3, the longest set duration, rally and average rally were found in the Elimination Phase than Group Stage (p < 0.05). In women’s singles, these differences were also recorded in Set 2. For doubles, the results are more stable among groups. Men’s doubles had a longer duration of the match and set (sets 1 and set 2) (p < 0.01), and also scored highest for average rally strokes (sets 1 3) (p < 0.05) and shuttles used in the Elimination Phase vs. the Group Phase along the match (p < 0.01). In women’s doubles, more shuttles were used in a match in the Elimination than in the Group Phase. Moreover, the same results are established for Set 2, including for average rally. Mixed doubles saw no match going to three sets. However, the greatest differences showed a longer rally and average rally being registered in the Elimination than in the Group Phase. In conclusion, the timing factors of the badminton singles and doubles games were different in the Elimination and Group Phases. This information may help players and coaches prepare and administer different types of workouts or, more specifically, competition schedules adapted to the characteristics of modern badminton.