The University of Rennes 2 is carrying out the Best Tennis scientific project which aims to support the performance of high-level tennis players with a view to the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris 2024. Explanations.
Tennis is a sport that has the potential to bring home a lot of medals for France at the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris in 2024, through its nine events. The Best Tennis project, carried by the University of Rennes 2, aims to promote the chances of French players through a scientific approach. “The objective is to improve the gesture of tennis players and tennis players on the serve and on the return”, explains Benoît Bideau, university professor at Rennes 2 and one of the promoters of this project. “We have brought together a consortium with 9 partners, 22 scientific researchers and 2 industrialists in relation with the French Tennis Federation. “
Three scientific axes
The work carried out at Rennes 2 University around the little yellow ball is already recognized. Caroline Martin, lecturer and also project leader, focuses her biomechanics research on tennis serve and has published a book on performance optimization. Nearly 150 ATP-classified players have been tested in the M2S laboratory. “We already have a lot of experience”, insists Benoit Bideau. It is therefore not surprising that the University of Rennes 2 is at the head of this project, which mobilizes laboratories located elsewhere in France, in particular in Toulouse and Lyon. In all, 24 high-level players, 17 able-bodied and 7 in wheelchairs, will be followed up to the JOPs. A scientific approach of the Best Tennis project is articulated in three scientific axes: biometric to evaluate the gesture of the player in the service and to reduce the risk of injury, neuroscientific in order to improve information gathering in the opponent and artificial intelligence which will evaluate the strategy through the assistance of an automated competition. “These three areas will be combined to transpose them to athletes”, adds Benoît Bideau. This last axis, as well as biometrics, are being studied at the University of Rennes. “Initially, the campus courts will be equipped with sensors to promote handling. However, ultimately, the goal is to equip Roland-Garros. “
Financial assistance
The Best Tennis project is one of the six winners of the second call for projects of the Priority Research Program “Very high performance sport” launched by the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation and the Ministry of National Education, Youth and Sports to mobilize the scientific community around the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris in 2024. Financial assistance of 1.3 million euros will not be provided to promote the success of the project. “These are considerable resources which will make it possible to finance better technology and optimize the working time of researchers”, rejoices Benoît Bideau.
Leslie Mucret
Photo credit: Sputnik / Icon Sport
–
