Finding tennis talents in Greece

The aim of the present study is to investigate motor skills in children ages 6-11 in Greece with the focus on tennis. Motor abilities in tennis is the main condition for future high performance. A series of tests of ΑSΤ (Allgemeiner Sportmotorischer Test 1990) were used for the purposes of the present study. Participants included 124 primary school students. These tests included six tasks: running (20 meters, hurdles and 6’ running) and throwing (tennis ball throwing to a target, ball throwing on the wall and medicine ball throwing). Results did not show significant differences between boys and girls. Differences found between boys and girls focused mainly on motor coordination and ball handling. The explanation for such differences is based on the fact that boys are more used to play with balls in relation to girls.