Comparison of game characteristics at professional ITF and ATP tennis tournaments

Abstract

Comparison of game characteristics at professional ITF and ATP tennis tournamentsBackground: Tennis players have only limited time to hit the incoming ball. This specific time and other game characteristics may vary depending on the performance level of the players. Objective: The aim is to analyze and compare the game characteristics and frequency of rally shots in men's matches between the ATP Challenger tournament and the ITF Men's World Tennis Tour tournament played on a clay surface. Methods: We compare selected game characteristics in two international men's tennis tournaments of different category, i.e. the ITF Men's World Tennis Tour (lower professional level) and the ATP Challenger (medium professional level). Altogether, we analyzed 2483 points in 20 matches. Results: The mean rally pace was faster in the ITF tournament compared to the ATP Challenger tournament, but this difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.06). There was a statistically significant difference in the work/rest ratio at the ITF tournament of 1:3.1 compared to the ATP Challenger 1 : 2.8 t (23) = -2.59, p = 0.03 (d = 0.55). Most often, the point ended in the first four rally shot, in the case of the ITF tournament in 53% and in the case of the ATP Challenger in 50% of cases. Conclusions: This study highlights specific aspects of game performance and the match characteristics in two categories of tournaments on clay court. From a practical point of view, the results can serve as a template for coaches to adjust training programs and to accurately model training sessions.

Asociación de la agilidad con la composición corporal y fuerza muscular explosiva de los miembros inferiores en mujeres jóvenes tenistas (Association of agility with body composition and lower-extremity explosive muscle strength in young female tennis players)

“…En este sentido, Ferrauti et al (2018) establecen una relación carga vs. descanso desde 1:1 a 1:5. El tiempo promedio de duración total de un partido de dos o tres sets es de 1.5 horas y el porcentaje de tiempo de juego efectivo es de 20% a 30% en tierra batida y de 10% a 15% en superficie dura (Carboch et al, 2021;Fernández et al, 2006;Kovacs, 2007). En promedio la duración de los puntos va de ocho a 10 segundos, ejecutando 10 golpes con cerca de cuatro cambios de di-rección (Fernández, 2006;Villouta et al, 2019), la distancia media de cada sprint realizado es de cuatro a siete metros en el transcurso de cada punto (Fernández-Fernández et al, 2009).…”