ORIGINAL ARTICLE   

Gazzetta Medica Italiana Archivio per le Scienze Mediche 2017 June;176(6):338-44

DOI: 10.23736/S0393-3660.16.03334-9

Copyright © 2016 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Left and right-hand correspondence of the anthropometrical parameters of the upper and manual lateral limb within professional tennis players

Siaka COULIBALY ^{1, 2}, Firmin K. KOUASSI ^{1, 2}, Jean-Bertin BEUGRÉ ^{1, 2}, Jérôme K. KOUADIO ^{1, 2}, Assi R. ASSI ^{1, 2}, N’guessan K., SONAN ^{1, 2}, N’guessan, KOUAMÉ ³, Jean-Claude PINEAU ⁴ ✉

¹ Biomorphology and Physical Anthropology Laboratory, University Félix Houphouet-Boigny, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire; ² Anthropological Sciences of Developement Institute, University Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire; ³ Youth and Sports National Institute, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire; ⁴ CNRS UPR 2147, Dynamics of Human Evolution, Paris, France

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to search for a relationship between the manual literality and the anthropometrical characters of the tennis players according to their sporting level.
METHODS: This study concerned 41 tennis players (21 of international stage and 20 of national stage); whose age is between 17 and 56 years old. This sample is divided into two (02) groups: left-hander and right-hander. The comparison of the couple parameters’ measures left and right gave the examination of the differences ascertained between the national athletes and the international ones.
RESULTS: Important difference (P<0.05) were noticed about the perimeters (arm, fore-arm, wrist) beside the right-handers and the left-handers as well. These differences was statistically significant (P<0.01) for the international players.
CONCLUSIONS: The emphasis of the specific anthropometrical parameters, mainly the parameters of the arm, the forearm and the wrist (taking age into account) shows an important development of the muscles for a same international tennis player. This is an obvious evidence of a morphological specificity also connected with the practice of this sport at a prepubertal age.

KEY WORDS: Anthropometry - Tennis - Athletes