Zepp Tennis Sensor REVIEW
Introduction
Zepp tennis sensor is one of the first tennis sensor in the world. It is a small yellow cube which is attached to the end of a tennis racquet handle by a rubber mount or plastic mount. I bought mine in January 2014 and I have been playing with it ever sence. It gives me a great basic overview of my game.
Author Martin Poboril (last update January 2015)
opening the box
Zepp tennis box from in front.
Zepp tennis box from behind.
On the top of every box is a hook.
Zepp tennis box from the side.
Zepp tennis box from the side.
After opening the box’s door we can see the sensor.
Box after we slide out the drawer.
Every part of the box.
The box includes (from left to the right): charger, Zepp tennis sensor, flex mount, and warranty booklet. Also recently available, is a pro mount which should already be included in the box. If you bought the Zepp tennis sensor package and the pro mount was not included you can still buy the pro mount separately.
Flex mount
Pro mount
I bought my Pro mount separately and it came in this package. I did not expect two Pro mounts in one package because on the webpage is picture of one pro mount on the handle of the tennis racquet without any description what is in the box.
weight and size
According to my scale the sensor alone weights 8 grams.
The flex mount weights 12.2 grams.
The sensor and flex mount combined weight 20.4 grams.
The size comparison of the flex mount and Zepp tennis sensor with a pen.
The sensor exceeds the racquet handle by 2cm/0.79 inches.
The sensor mounted by pro mount exceeds the racquet handle by 1.4cm/0.55 inches.
My tennis racquet alone weights 347 grams.
When I added the Zepp tennis sensor to my racquet the weight changed to 367.3 grams.
The Pro mount alone weights 4 grams.
Pro mount and the Zepp tennis sensor weight 11.9 grams.
The size comparison of Zepp sensor and the Pro mount with a pen.
My tennis racquet weights 358.2 grams with the Pro mount and the Zepp sensor..
pictures of the flex mount
pictures of the pro mount
technical specifications
BLUETOOTH
Bluetooth 2.1
Range 20 – 30 meter
COMPATIBILITY
iOS 7.0+, iPhone 4S+, iPod Touch 6th Generation+, iPad 2nd Generation+
Android OS 4.0+
NOT for Windows phones
NOT for desktop
NOT for Blackberry
SENSOR
Dual accelerometers
3-axis gyroscope
MEMORY
Up to 2,000 swings
BATTERY
Rechargeable Lithium Ion battery
2-3 hours full charge cycle
5-8 hours battery life, depends on usage – online or offline mode
tracking
Zepp tennis sensor works in two modes: Play Tracking Mode and 3D Serve Mode. In Play Tracking Mode we can choos how we want to see our results, either as a number or percentages.
Numbers
Percentages
Play Tracking Mode
FOREHAND
Number of forehands per session
Topspin, flat, slice
Sweet spot
Power
BACKHAND
Number of backhands per session
Topspin, flat, slice
Sweet spot
Power
SERVE
Number of serves per session
Sweet spot
Power
OTHER
Total swings per session
Total time, active time
3D Serve Mode
SERVE
Racquet speed
Potential ball speed
Spin
Backswing time
Impact time
3D analyzer figure
user guide
User guide is available only on the Zepp tennis official website. A user guide is not included in the box with the sensor. The user guide is clear, well organized, and includes helpful images. When we print out the user guide it has a total of 26 pages (user guide from May 19, 2015).
zepp tennis application
Zepp Tennis Application offers us two modes. The first one is “Play Tracking Mode” which records our entire practice or match session. In this mode we can use the sensor in offline or online mode and after our session we can download our data to the application and analyze it. The second one is “3D Serve Mode” which allows us to record and analyze our serve in 3D. It is best to use this mode in online mode for immediate feedback.
Play Tracking Mode
From left to right:
– Welcome screen.
– Screen after we log in.
– When we click on icon in upper left corner we can see which mode our application is in (the application is currently in tracking mode), history, my account, settings, help, and when our application was last updated with the cloud.
Exploring One of My sessions
On the top of the screen we can see that I played this session on S eptember 30 at 11:21am (Zář is short for Září which means August in the Czech language) . The pie in the middle of the screen is showing how many forehands, backhands, and serve s I played at that session. By clicking on the icon at the bottom right we can change the result appearance in the pie, in either percentages or in numbers. On the bottom we can see total swings (510), total time (44:38), and active time (22:27) from the session.
Clicking on the “Power” button on the bottom of the screen we can see the power of our shots.
From left to right:
– This graph is showing the power from all of our shots together (light blue – forehand, dark blue – backhand, green – serve), and it is also showing the maximum (96) and average (56) power.
– This graph is showing only the power used during backhands (maximum 88, average 58 ).
– This graph is showing only the power used during forehands (maximum 96, average 56 ).
– And the last graph is showing the power used during serves (maximum 81, average 67).
To see all those graphs we simply slide through the pages.
When we go back to the basic pie and click for example on “Forehand” we come to the page where we can see the pie with the types of spins (topspin, flat, slice) which we played during forehands. Clicking on bottom left icon we see the tennis racquet graph showing us sweet spot s during forehands. The sweet spot s are divided into four tabs: All, Topspin, Flat, Slice (we are looking at “All” tab) .
3D Serve Mode
To change the mode from “Play Tracking Mode” to “3D Serve Mode” our sensor has to be connected to the application for a successful mode change.
In 3D Serve Mode it is recommended to use our sensor in the online mode so we can see the results after hitting every serve. The application is showing a virtual figure with the path of our swing and the speed of our racquet. Also, we can tell the application from which side we served – Deuce or Advantage side.
By clicking on the graph icon at the bottom of the screen we come to this page where we can see the summary of every single serve. This page is showing: Racquet speed (72 km/h), Potential ball speed ( 101 km/h), Spin (10/10 – 0 means no spin, 10 – means maximum spin), Backswing time (1.33 sec.), and Impact time (0.27 sec.).
From left to right:
– By clicking on the arrow pointing down at bottom left corner of the screen we get following menu:
Compare – We can compare our serve with the “Pro” serve or we can compare two of our serves together.
Share – We can share our result through e – mail, Facebook , or Twitter.
Screen Lock – This option locks the screen.
Delete – This deletes the serve we are looking at.
– This screen is comparing my serve (the green path) with the “Pro” serve (gray path ). At the top of the screen is the speed of both serves.
– On the next screen two of my serves are compared to each other.
– The last screen shows the numbers of the two serves which are being compared.
There are eight different angles from which we can analyze our serve.
history of zepp tennis application
Version 1.0 (13.11.2013)
– First version of the application
Version 1.0.1 (20.11.2013)
– Bug fixes
Version 1.0.2 (22.11.2013)
– Bug fixes
Version 1.0.3 (5.12.2013)
– Bug fixes
Version 1.1 (30.12.2013)
– New sensor firmware update to improve accuracy.
– New languages: German, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean.
– Bug fixes and user interface bug fixes
Version 1.1.1 (1.1.2014)
– Bug fixes
– New sensor firmware update to improve accuracy.
Version 1.1.2 (29.1.2014)
– New firmware update for performance improvements in swing tracking.
Version 1.1.3 (6.2.2014)
– Fixed a bug that caused swing tracking issues between accounts.
Version 1.1.4 (7.3.2014)
– New sensor firmware for improved swing tracking accuracy and swing recognition.
Version 1.1.5 (1.4.2015)
– Bug fixes
Version 1.2 (20.5.2014)
– 3D serve analysis
– New serve metrics – racquet speed, potential ball speed, spin, and timing.
– Sweet spot
Version 1.2.1 (17.6.2014)
– Added languages
– Firmware update to improve 3D swing capture.
Version 1.2.2 (14.7.2014)
– Improved serve and ball spin tracking.
Version 1.2.3 (13.8.2014)
– Update play tracking mode to improve the accuracy of shot classification.
– Stabilization and bug fixes.
Version 2.0.0 (18.5.2015)
– Match and practice analysis
– Instant analysis of your intensity, consistency, and power.
– Personalized session reports + tips and drills to improve your game.
– Benchmark your practices and matches, set goals and track your improvements over time in both singles and doubles.
– Video training center – Milos Raonic and top coach share video tips, drills, and match strategy.
– Step – by – step tutorials
updating the firmware of the sensor (version 1.2.3)
If newer firmware is available for the sensor, a yellow “UPDATE” sign will show up next to the “Settings”. To update the firmware, follow the steps on the screen. To update mine it took less than a minute.
PROS and cons
PROS
CONS
Sensor is water resistant
Sensor is well built
Sensor can be used for multiple sports (tennis, golf, baseball, and softball)
Sensor’s warranty is one year
Battery life (more than 5 hours)
Free application
Sign in on multiple devices at once
Approved by ITF
Sensor is not easy to turn on/off
The size and the weight of the sensor
The LED channel is hard to see outside (especially during sunny days)
The sensor sometimes flies off the flex and pro mount
The flex mount exceeds the handle too much
Sensor requires calibration before every session
Syncing with the cloud takes a long time
Synchronization between devices does not work well
“3D Serve Mode” does not divide serve in one day into a separate session.
tips
Tip 1
I like to put the flex mount under the over grip for a better feeling.
Tip 2
I was playing with my Pro mount for about three hours and all of a sudden the Pro mount with the sensor flew off my racquet.
Most of the tennis racquets have sticker with its brand on the top of the cap , in my case Tecnifibre. I put the Pro mount on the top of this sticker and the s ticker flew off with the Pro mount and the Zepp tennis sensor after about three hours of playing. This sticker is well glued to the top of the cap , but it is not glued well enough to put something on top of it. In the left picture we can see the cap without the sticker and i n the right picture we can see the sticker alone.
Here we can see the Pro mount with the brand sticker. The Pro mount holds really well on the racquet so if you have the brand sticker on the butt cap of your tennis racquet I would remove it and stick the Pro mount on the butt cap without the brand sticker.
By doing that you will save one gram of weight and also the sensor will not stick out of your racquet as much .
sensor from inside
playing with the sensor
Before every session I calibrated the sensor as instructed. I played ten shots every session.
Play Tracking Mode
10 Forehands Flat:
– The application recorded 10 forehands flat.
10 Forehands Topspin:
– The application recorded 8 forehands topspin and 2 forehands flat.
10 Forehands Slice:
– The application recorded 9 forehands slice and 1 serve.
10 Backhands Flat:
– The application recorded 10 backhands topspin.
10 Backhands Topspin:
– The application recorded 6 backhands topspin, 1 backhand slice, and 3 forehands.
10 Backhands Slice:
– The application recorded 10 backhands slice.
10 Serves:
– The application recorded 10 serves.
3D Serve Mode
3 Flat Serves
3 Slice Serves
video of the accuracy
In the video I am showing only three shots for backhands, forehands, and smashes, and two shots of serves of every session to keep the video short.
Accuracy of the zepp sensor from the practice
I was recording myself on video camera during part of my practices while I was playing with the Zepp sensor. After the practice I took the data from the sensor and the recorded data from the video and I compared them. The sensor records volleys as normal shots so I always add them together.
Session 1 (April 22, 2015)
Application version 1.2.3, mounted by flex mount
Type of Shot
Data Recorded
Zepp Recorded
Difference in %
Total Difference in %
Forehands
229
234
1.08%
Backhands
134 + 1 = 135
129
2.27%
Serve
0
0
–
Total
364
363
0.14%
1.16%
Forehand Volley
0
0
–
Backhand Volley
1
0
–
Smash
0
–
–
Notes:
This session was recorded in offline mode.
Length of the session: 21m 58sec.
weird
– In the application there is a tab for smashes BUT in user guide it says that the sensor only tracks forehands, backhands, and serves (all of smashes are counted as serves).
– Sometimes one session gets divided into more sessions.
– During my session, when I did not play even one serve the sensor still counted some of my shots as a serve. The only part that is clickable on this graph is the pie. So when we have a couple of shots in one section, like in this case one serve, it is almost impossible to click on it. It took me many tries to click on the green part.
price
USA Market = $149.99
Europe Market = 149.95 Euros
my thoughts on zepp tennis sensor
In my opinion it is a great tool for amateurs who want to have fun and see something more from their game. Zepp tennis sensor and everything around it is well designed (application, webpage). In my opinion the sensor alone is too big and too heavy for a tennis racquet. Mounting the sensor to the racquet with the flex mount needs some practice and the flex mount is very uncomfortable on the racquet. Overall it is not bad product for players who want to see basic information from their game.