A Comparison of the Perceptual and Technical Demands of Tennis Training, Simulated Match Play, and Competitive Tournaments

Abstract

Training in the form of drills or simulated match play appeared to inadequately replicate tournament demands in this cohort of players. Coaches should be mindful of match demands to best prescribe sessions of relevant duration, as well as internal (RPE) and technical (stroke rate) load, to aid tournament preparation.

Postmatch recovery of physical performance and biochemical markers in team ball sports: a systematic review

“… 27 28 35 Deviation in one of these studies 27 might be explained by the fact that samples were taken after a simulated match, while in all studies that reported high-peak values, samples were taken after an official match. Possibly, next to lower physical exertion during simulated matches, 80 lower peak values of CK can be expected.…”

The acute effect of match-play on hip range of motion and isometric strength in elite tennis players

“…Tennis is an intermittent sport characterized by high-intensity efforts interspersed with periods of low-intensity activity (e.g., active recovery between points and rest between changeover breaks) over a variable period (i.e., 1–5 h) (López-Samanes et al, 2017). During a tennis match, the players cover around 1,500–3,100 m (Gallo-Salazar et al, 2015; Pereira et al, 2016) and report ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) of ~5.5 units after matches (Murphy et al, 2016). Due to the variability of match length during a competition, physical performance during prolonged matches may drop due to the appearance of neuromuscular fatigue signs (Girard et al, 2008) manifested as a decrease in maximal voluntary contraction and leg stiffness values (Girard et al, 2006).…”

Session-RPE is a valuable internal loading evaluation method in beach volleyball for both genders, elite and amateur players, conditioning and technical sessions, but limited for tactical training and games

“…Similarly, no result regarding the session-RPE validity has been provided for a study on elite tennis (Coutts, et al, 2010). Conversely, a high correlation between external and ITLs was provided in a study on youth tennis players (Murphy, et al, 2016) performing 259 individual drills, where session-RPE values actually reported a partial correlation with the ITLs determined by the HR-based method. Therefore, the promotion of further studies on the correlation between session-RPE and HR-based methods could contribute to better clarify the validity of the first ITL quantification.…”

“…However, only few studies (Aoki, et al, 2017;Coutts, et al, 2010;Murphy, Duffield, Kellett, & Reid, 2016) on the session-RPE validity were focused on return and territorial (i.e., not invasion) sports, also reporting controversial results. In particular, a study focused on volleyball (Aoki, et al, 2017) aimed to describe and compare the training periodization of two age-categories (U16 versus U19), verifying the effect of the periodized training program on ITL, mood states, and vertical jump performance of young players.…”

“…Although in the studies on session-RPE involving the participation of male and female athletes data were usually merged (Minganti, et al, 2011;Murphy, et al, 2016;Wallace, et al, 2016), a separate gender analysis of players' ITL could made results more consistent. At the same time, an eventual gender difference in the correlation between the HR-based method and session-RPE could be better explained by other factors such as competition level, thus highlighting the need to consider also the latter factor.…”