Abstract
It is said the server has the initiative in tennis because tennis rallies start with the serve. （Japan Tennis Association, 2023） . However, to win a tennis match, player must break the opponent’s service game at some point, so the skill of return is important to winning a match. Schonborn （2007） also states that “the service return is the most important shot in tennis”. However, there are few studies that have examined the details of return hitting. In order to improve the return technique, it is important to clarify not only how professional players hit the ball, but also what kind of speed and spin rate they hit. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to clarify the return speed and spin rate of professional tennis players during a match. And also clarify the relationship between the speed, spin rate, and course of the service and the speed and spin rate of the return. The results revealed that the speed of the return for the 2nd service was significantly higher than that for the 1st service. Also, the comparison of forehand and backhand returns revealed that there was no significant difference between forehand and backhand returns in terms of speed and spin rate. In addition, the speed and spin rate of returns by service course showed different characteristics depending on the course.
