An Analysis of the visual/perceptual attributes of male and female tennis players of varying ability levels

This investigation was designed to study the visual/perceptual attributes of tennis players of varying ability levels. The visual/ perceptual attributes designated were visual acuity, visual phoria, depth perception, peripheral vision, and coincidence anticipation. Participants were 90 subjects, 18-32 years of age, consisting of an equal number (n = 15) of males and females categorized as beginning, intermediate, or advanced level players according to criteria outlined in the National Tennis Rating Program. The Bausch and Lomb Vision Tester (B & L) was utilized to measure visual acuity, visual phoria, and depth perception. The Howard-Dolman device provided a second measure of depth perception while a Perimeter measured peripheral vision in response to the colors white, yellow, red, blue, and green. The Bassin Anticipation Timer was used to measure coincidence anticipation.

The study investigated three categories: (a) relationships within the visual/perceptual measures, (b) relationships between the visual/perceptual measures, and (c) differences among the dependent measures accounted for by gender, skill level, and gender by skill level interaction. The Pearson product-moment correlation analysis was utilized to determine the relationships between and within the visual/perceptual measures. A number of 2 x 3, gender by skill, MANOVAs were used to analyze (c) above. Wilks' Criterion (p < .05) was utilized to evaluate the multivariate F, Neuman-Keuls post hoc tests, and utility indices were calculated for the resultant univariate ANOVAs. The findings suggested that; (a) the influence of peripheral vision, particularly in response to the colors white and yellow, was an important factor in determining the capability of a player to perform in a tennis environment dominated by speed of shot and decision making, (b) depth perception as measured by the Bausch and Lomb Vision Tester was a critical factor in determining advanced level performance, (c) advanced level players had superior visual acuity for both eyes at far vision than beginning level performers, (d) males had superior levels of coincidence anticipation at the stimulus speeds of 7 and 15 mph, and (e) significant relationships existed between and within a number of the visual/perceptual measures.