The forehand smash is often considered a key skill for winning a point in badminton. Three-dimensional (3D) motion tracking technologies used during elite match play, have the potential to provide a rich source of representative data to examine the effectiveness of shot tactics on performance. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of discipline on smash outcome. Utilizing Hawk-eye (innovations ltd, Basingstoke, UK) data, nine Badminton World Federation (BWF) international (Super Series and World Tour) tournaments (2017-18) were examined resulting in 18,904 forehand smash strokes. The data included shuttlecock-racket impact location, shuttlecock smash placement and shot outcome. Three One-Way Anova’s were used to examine the differences between disciplines for smash outcome. One-way Anova tests revealed that there were significant differences between disciplines for smash winner (ace) percentage (F(4,389) = 2.753, p = .028)); smash unreturned winner percentage (F(4,389) = 13.778, p = <0.001)) and smash returned percentage (F(4,389) = 11.072, p = <0.001)). Tukey Post Hoc results revealed, Women's Doubles (WD) (p = <0.001, 72.5 ± 10.6) had a significantly higher smash returned percentage in comparison to Men’s doubles (MD) (p = <0.001, 63.5 ± 13.5). Furthermore, WD (p = 0.009, 13.4 ± 6.9) had a lower smash unreturned winner percentage in comparison to MD (p = 0.009, 17.8 ± 8.7) and Mixed Doubles (XD) (p = <0.001 18.9 ± 8.7). In conclusion, the BWF, coaches and in particular WD players should focus on developing strategies (technical and tactical) during training for hitting more forehand smash winners (aces and unreturned), as this is likely to reduce the total number of smashes returned. Future research will look into the relationship between forehand smash shot outcome and shuttlecock speed.

 

Keywords: Smash Winners, 3D motion tracking, Performance analysis, Tactical