Simulation of Tennis Spinning Ball Flight Path Based on Fuzzy Reasoning Algorithm

Abstract

Topspin is one of the most widely used hitting techniques in a tennis match and it is an effective tool to win over the opponent. Hence, flight path simulation of a spinning ball can be a tremendous analysis tool to help tennis players perfect their game. This article proposes a fuzzy logic model based on the principles of kinematics and mechanics. This study analyzes the physical characteristics of a spinning ball during the flight process, which are divided into two categories: the characteristics of the ball on impact (including the floating and rotating it causes) and the landing rebound characteristics. These two characteristics are considered as the constraints of the flight path simulation and the inputs of the fuzzy logic model. Fuzzy logic is used to fuzzify the impact and landing rebound information of the ball based on the knowledge base, solve the problem, and finally defuzzify the results into crisp outputs, that is, accurate flight trajectory. The simulation results show that the estimation error of the proposed model is lower than 3.7 cm/s and 0.9°, and the success rate of accurate topspin execution is 100%, indicating that the proposed model is effective to train tennis players.