Few sports require as many pivots, direction changes, and accelerations as tennis—a training workload the USTA is now tracking using an innovative orthotic made by Plantiga. The tennis governing body has begun outfitting some of its players with instrumented insoles that act like portable force plates in each athlete’s sneakers.
“One of the big things that we measure is the accumulation of impact force over a given session,” said Plantiga cofounder and CEO Quin Sandler. “Every time you hit the ground, you spike with force. If you hit the ground stiff and your frame is stiff because you’re tired, more force is created.