Modelling of an oblique tennis ball impact on a court surface

A method is outlined for modelling the horizontal frictional forces and vertical reaction force on a tennis ball during an oblique impact on a court. Equations were developed to predict the displacement, velocity and force throughout impact given boundary conditions before and after contact. An impact on an acrylic court with backspin was used to validate the model. The predicted values agreed well with the experimental results taken for horizontal, vertical and angular displacements throughout the period of contact. The horizontal frictional force was calculated separately using the horizontal and angular accelerations which gave similar values of peak force. The values of coefficient of friction found agree well with the experimental results taken on the same court surface.