Samenvatting

Wheelchair tennis is one of the fastest growing paralympic sports. An important part in wheelchair sports is classification, which is why the International Tennis Federation is constantly assessing the current classification requirements. The purpose of this study is to assess the relationship between strength and Wheelchair Mobility Performance (WMP) in wheelchair tennis and to see if these differences are the same between current classes (Men-Women-Quad). As it is expected that a stronger athlete is able to translate this strength to acceleration. Fifty-one elite wheelchair tennis players were measured in three conditions, a strength test to determine their maximum force on the rims, a field test for their maximum acceleration and during match play to test their maximum acceleration while competing. During the first test players perform a series of strength tests while stabilized by a strength rig to measure peak strength. During their match and the field test Inertial Measuring Units (x-IMUs) were attached to their wheelchair to measure wheelchair kinematics such as speed, acceleration, rotations, rotational speeds. The maximum strength is compared to the maximum acceleration during both the field test and match play. The maximum strength (N) and maximum acceleration (m/s^2) showed moderate correlation to each other (0.30-0.40). On top of that Men performed better across all tests compared to Quads (P<0.05) and higher than Women in both the strength test and match play. Athletes were also divided by trunk function score, this showed that without a significant difference in pull strength and in maximum acceleration during match play and the field test. Because of the weak correlation this study concludes that there is not a strong relationship between strength and acceleration. Further studies will be needed to determine the exact relationship between acceleration and strength, especially between groups based on trunk function.