Tennis

The Forces that create this game!

Forces
 Roger Federer (the player in the video) uses top-spin to make the ball
bounce in the court

 Top-spin is an essential component of playing tennis, you need top-

spin to play the game of tennis
 Force (Top –Spin)
 Top-spin brings the ball in a upward direction
then gradually moves in downward direction
 Top-spin is a consistent shot that will make the
ball bounce in the court
 To perform a top-spin shot you have to swing
tennis racket in diagonal motion
 Every tennis player uses top-spin
 Forces exerting on the
 The ball used in this sport is the tennis
ball
 The main force exerting on the tennis
ball is the contact between the racket
and the tennis ball
 Other forces exerting on the tennis ball
are the gravitational pull and friction
 There are only three major forces
acting on the tennis ball
 Description of Forces
o The earth’s natural gravitational
intensity which pulls the ball
down at 9.8 N/kg

o the force being applied from the

racket hitting the ball in upward
forward direction

o kinetic friction is acting on ball

because the ball is not at rest
Unbalanced or Balanced Forces
 The tennis ball in a game will constantly accelerate
and decelerate
 Forces acting on the tennis ball are unbalanced
which causes the acceleration and deceleration of the
tennis ball
 Acceleration starts when the ball has been hit and
deceleration when force of gravity becomes more
than the force applied
 Three unbalanced forces that are acting on the ball
are the force being applied to the ball, friction and
gravitational pull
The Tennis Racket
 The tennis racket is most essential equipment in
tennis
 Without this equipment you are not able to play
tennis
 Tennis rackets can vary in sizes
 Each racket has different attributes
 Ex) power, control, comfort, durability, etc…
 Newton’s Three Laws used in Tennis
 Newton’s first law
 A tennis player has to be always balanced when performing any type
of shot

 When an object is balanced that means that Fnet (sum of all forces)
equals to 0

 A tennis player can not lean towards the ball because the player has
no time preparing for the shot

 A tennis player can not lean away from the ball because the player
can not follow through his shot and will not get any power on his
shot
Demonstration (Ana Ivanovic)
Newton’s Second Law
 Newton’s Second Law
 As a tennis player swings the racket towards the ball,
the player accelerates at contact point
 The force applied is greater than the force of friction
therefore causes unbalanced forces
 The formula fnet equals mass multiplied by
acceleration you can find out the force you applied on
the tennis ball or the mass of the racket
Newton’s Second Law
Fnet=ma

Expand it !

Fapp + Fk= mass x acceleration

Newton’s Third Law
 Newton’s Third Law
 When there is an action there will also be a reaction
 An example is when a tennis player hits the ball with
the racket, the racket exerts a forward force while the
ball exerts a backward force
 For every action, there is an equal and opposite
reaction.
 (R & D)
 Racket Improvement
 A lighter material like aluminum
 Greater flex-point to improve acceleration=power
 A better grip so players will have more control and comfort
 A bigger frame so player have a bigger sweet-spot
 A granny stick to reduce vibration
How to Test it!
 you would measure the vibration on the racket several
times

 force of the racket hitting the ball will be controlled by

professional players testing it

 vary the acceleration of the ball & speed of the racket

to adapt to different shot in the game
 ie) slice, drop shot, forehand, backhand, lob, etc…
Our Design is Better
 Lighter Material
 Tested by Roger Federer
 Reduced vibration
 Higher flex-point
 Affordable price
 Adapts to every hit you do
Bibliography
 Ana Ivanovic [Video file]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/
     watch?v=2x6vqaDGgnI
 Dunlop Tennis racket. (n.d.). Retrieved from archives website:
     http://
www.besportier.com/archives/dunlop-aerogel-300-tennis-racquet.jpg
 "Newton's Three Laws." Newton's Three Laws. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Nov. 2010.
     <http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/history/newton3laws.html>.
 Roger Federer [Video file]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/
     watch?v=L0L1L6Aqqwg
 Tennis picture. (n.d.). Retrieved from Wordpress website:
     http://anggun3.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/fedfore.jpg
o Waldo. N.d. The Buckeye Herps. Web. 1 Nov. 2010.
     <http://buckeyeherps.blogspot.com/2009/10/wheres-waldo.html>.
The End
Thanks for listening to our
presentation!