CONSTRUCTION OF FOREHAND DRIVE, BACKHAND DRIVE, AND SERVICE TENNIS TESTS

The purpose of the study was to develop a battery of tennis skills tests in a manner that would serve as a model for test construction. A series of 12 procedures was outlined and followed in the construction of forehand drive, backhand drive, and service tests of accuracy in placement for novice tennis players, referred to as the TTA (Tennis Tests of Achievement). The planning and formulation of the TTA were based on: (a) knowledge of tennis authorities including recommended drive and service teaching progressions and methods of practice; (b) strengths and deficiencies in existing tennis skills tests; and (c) results of pilot procedures relating to the nature of the tests. A circular target was created to provide an objective method of measuring accuracy in drive and service placement. Male volunteers (N = 64) at the beginning level of tennis ability participated in an appraisal of the tests. Reliability coefficients, ascertained by the test-retest method, were .80 for the service test, .67 for forehand drive test, and .66 for the backhand drive test. Predictive validity coefficients produced for the forehand drive and backhand drive tests were .48 and .60. Correlations between TTA performance and stroke performance during actual play over the course of a round-robin tennis tournament yielded coefficients of .78 for the backhand drive, .66 for the serve, and .40 for the forehand drive. © 1969 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.