Effects of athletic training on physical fitness and stroke velocity in healthy youth and adult tennis players: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Better physical fitness and stroke velocity in healthy elite compared to sub-elite tennis players have been shown in previous studies. However, evidence-based knowledge regarding the effectiveness of athletic training on physical fitness and stroke velocity is currently lacking. Thus, the objective of this systematic review with meta-analysis was to characterize, aggregate, and quantify athletic training effects on measures of physical fitness and stroke velocity in healthy youth and adult tennis players. A computerized systematic literature search was performed in the databases PubMed, Web of Science, and SportDiscus from their inception date to August 2022. Studies were included, among others, if the intervention period lasted a minimum of four weeks and if at least one parameter of physical fitness (i.e., speed, agility, lower-extremity muscle power, upper-extremity muscle power/strength, endurance, balance, flexibility) or stroke performance (i.e., stroke velocity) was tested. Initially, 11,511 articles were identified, after removing duplicates and assessing abstracts and full texts, 24 articles were used to calculate weighted standardized mean differences (SMD). For measures of physical fitness, athletic training resulted in small (speed: SMD = 0.44), moderate (endurance: SMD = 0.61, upper-extremity muscle power: SMD = 0.72; flexibility: SMD = 0.63), and large (agility: SMD = 0.93, lower-extremity muscle power: SMD = 0.88; upper-extremity muscle strength: SMD = 0.90; balance: SMD = 0.88) effects. Further, a large effect (SMD = 0.90) on stroke velocity was detected. The additionally performed sub-analyses showed differences in the effectiveness of athletic training on variables of physical fitness and stroke speed when considering players' age (i.e., youth players: <18 years; adult players: ≥18 years). Precisely, there was a high potential for training-related adaptations in adult players with respect to lower-extremity muscle power, upper-extremity muscle strength, and stroke velocity and in youth players with respect to endurance. Interventions to promote physical fitness and stroke velocity in healthy tennis players revealed varying levels of effectiveness ranging from small to large and these were additionally affected by players' age. Therefore, future studies should investigate modalities to increase training efficacy in youth and adult tennis players, especially for fitness components that showed small- to moderate-sized changes.

Plantar pressure is changed to increase post-impact ball speed during longline forehand and backhand groundstroke in elite female tennis players

“…Moreover, according to Shimokawa et al ( 10 ), the horizontal force becomes greater as the stroke velocity increases. From a practical perspective, the increase in plantar pressure in the dominant foot suggests that a combination of bilateral and unilateral exercises such as leg press, dumbbell lunge, and squat should be used in conditioning programs to improve the vertical force component ( 16 ). In contrast, the decrease in plantar pressure in the non-dominant foot indicates a declining importance of the vertical force component.…”

“…In contrast, the decrease in plantar pressure in the non-dominant foot indicates a declining importance of the vertical force component. Therefore, exercises to increase other force components such as horizontal force (e.g., jump-landing tasks such as single/triple hops for distance, side jumps, and sprints) and to improve its stabilizing function (e.g., high skipping with a single leg halt, medicine ball chest passes while standing on one leg, and lateral raises while standing on one leg on an unstable surface) seem to be more appropriate ( 16 – 18 ).…”

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)

“…(2009 quienes destacan la relación entre la agilidad y el CMJ en estudiantes universitarios. Lo anterior viene a ratificar que la investigación acerca de la agilidad en deportistas jóvenes debe aún profundizarse y construir un cuerpo de conocimiento más robusto (Thieschäfer & Büsch, 2022), teniendo en cuenta la importancia de la agilidad para el rendimiento deportivo (Lambrich & Muehlbauer, 2023).…”

“…Además, el monitorear regularmente estos factores (se recomienda tres o cuatro veces al año) puede permitir ajustar la programación del entrenamiento en función de los resultados obtenidos. En este sentido, investigaciones previas han demostrado que los entrenamientos centrados en la fuerza explosiva pueden ser muy útiles para aumentar el rendimiento, especialmente en jóvenes tenistas (Fernández-Fernández et al, 2016;Kraemer et al, 2003), en específico, por el alto efecto de adaptación al entrenamiento en jóvenes tenistas con respecto a la agilidad, el equilibrio y la resistencia (Lambrich & Muehlbauer, 2023).…”

Changes in Body Composition and Physical Performance after a Six-Week International Tour in Young Chilean Female Tennis Players

“…The typical mean duration of a three-set match is 1.5 h, with an effective playing time of 30%, executing 300 to 500 high-intensity movements [ 3 , 4 ]. In this regard, the analysis of these factors is decisive in differentiating successful players from others and particularly relevant for training purposes [ 5 , 6 ].…”