The phenomenon of laterality has been an established field of research in non-sporting areas for decades. In sport, however, it has been insufficiently researched to date. Compared to the 10-13% of left-handed players in the general population (Raymond et al., 1996), left-handed players in interactive sports (e.g. tennis, cricket, baseball) are in some cases significantly overrepresented or have above-average success (Grouios et al., 2002). This phenomenon is preferably explained by a strategic or tactical advantage of left-handers in such sports. Due to their - compared to right-handed players - almost mirror-image orientation on the playing field, the actions to which right-handed opponents are accustomed are now executed from the mirrored side and with different playing/striking angles. In addition, the perceptual experience of athletes with the actions of left-handed opponents is lower due to their general underrepresentation. This should be expressed, among other things, in the fact that the movement intentions of a left-handed opponent can be assessed - anticipated - more poorly (e.g. only very late in the temporal course of a movement or with less accuracy) than those of a right-handed opponent.
In the words of Pete Sampras (1998), right-hander and former number one in the world tennis rankings, the phenomenon of left-handers in sport can be summarized succinctly: "Some people just hate playing lefties. There's a certain mystique surrounding left-handed athletes, and the lefties wisely play it up."
As part of the DFG-funded project, this mystery will be explored in more detail and the aforementioned explanatory strands will be addressed. Furthermore, it will be examined whether the batting and throwing movements of left- and right-handed athletes may differ in certain aspects (kinematic analysis of, for example, joint positions, arm acceleration).
