Effects of plyometric training and conventional training on agility performance in tennis players

Abstract

Introduction: Recreational collegiate and professional level tennis players are at risk of musculo skeletal injuries. Plyometric training enhances balance and body control during movement, which promotes improvement in agility. Aim of this study is to find out the effectiveness of plyometric training on improving agility in tennis player. Methodology: This study conducted at Madha medical college and hospital, Chennai.Total 30 subjects were selected from population of tennis players by convenience sampling procedure. The samples were divided into two groups with plyometric training cum conventional training and conventional training program alone. The subjects include both genders with age group of 18 to 22 years based on the selection criteria. The training program consists 6 weeks of plyometric training and conventional training. Illinois agility test score and Tennis specific agility test score were used to evaluate the outcome measures. Result: Dependent t test was used to analyze the difference in effect within the group. Pre and post test scores for plyometric training with conventional training and conventional training alone found significance difference in improvement in agility with p< 0.0001.The mean difference value of plyometric training with conventional training program is 2.5, which is more than the mean difference value of conventional training program 1.58. Conclusion: The study concluded that plyometric training and conventional training are effective to improve agility, yet plyometric training is more effective to improve agility among tennis players.

Effects of plyometric training on skill and physical performance in healthy tennis players: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Figure 2B depicts a graphical representation of the outcomes of ROBINS-I evaluations. One of the non-RCTs discovered some concerns due to missing data, owing to an approximate 15% dropout rate ( Fernandez-Fernandez et al, 2016 ), two studies had moderate risk of bias in domain of deviations from intended intervention ( Ölçücü, 2013 ; Lakshmikanth et al, 2018 ), and three studies had moderate risk regarding bias in the selection of the reported results ( Ölçücü et al, 2013 ; Fernandez-Fernandez et al, 2018 ; Hotwani et al, 2021 ).…”

“…The twelve included papers were carried out between 2008 and 2021, with 443 tennis players. Across the studies, 1) Gender: nine studies focused on men ( Salonikidis and Zafeiridis, 2008 ; Behringer et al, 2013 ; Fernandez-Fernandez et al, 2015 ; Fernandez-Fernandez et al, 2016 ; Fernandez-Fernandez et al, 2018 ; Mohanta et al, 2019 ), no studies focused on female tennis players alone, two studies reported mixed gender ( Lakshmikanth et al, 2018 ; Hotwani et al, 2021 ), and one study did not specify gender ( Gelen et al, 2012 ); 2) Age: all studies recorded the participants’ ages, and an overview of age reports from twelve research revealed that the participants’ ages ranged from 12.5 to 25 years; 3) Tennis experience: eight studies reported on the training experience of the tennis players ( Salonikidis and Zafeiridis, 2008 ; Gelen et al, 2012 ; Behringer et al, 2013 ; Fernandez-Fernandez et al, 2015 ; Fernandez-Fernandez et al, 2016 ; Fernandez-Fernandez et al2018 ; Mohanta et al, 2019 ), ranging from 12 to 96 months, four studies did not report on training experience ( Ölçücü et al, 2013 ; Rathore, 2016 ; Lakshmikanth et al, 2018 ; Hotwani et al, 2021 ); 4) Intervention: regarding the training regimen in this review, four studies conducted PT for the upper and lower extremities ( Behringer et al, 2013 ; Fernandez-Fernandez et al, 2016 ; Mohanta et al, 2019 ; Ziagkas et al, 2019 ), and one study used only upper limb PT ( Gelen et al, 2012 ), six studies used lower-extremity PT ( Salonikidis and Zafeiridis, 2008 ; Fernandez-Fernandez et al, 2015 ; Rathore, 2016 ; Fernandez-Fernandez et al, 2018 ; Lakshmikanth et al, 2018 ; Hotwani et al, 2021 ), but three studies did not detailed description the training protocol ( Ölçücü, 2013 ; Rathore, 2016 ; Ziagkas et al, 2019 ). In addition, three studies combined PT with other types of exercise training (i.e., sprint training, acceleration/deceleration/change of direction drills) ( Fernandez-Fernandez et al, 2015 ; Fernandez-Fernandez et al, 2018 ; Hotwani et al, 2021 ).…”

“…In the twelve studies that were reviewed, agility was reported in seven. The factors valued and assessment instruments used included the 5-0-5 test (Fernandez-Fernandez et al, 2016;Fernandez-Fernandez et al, 2018), T-test (Mohanta et al, 2019;Hotwani et al, 2021), Illinois test (Rathore, 2016;Lakshmikanth et al, 2018;Hotwani et al, 2021), tennisspecific agility test (Lakshmikanth et al, 2018), hexagon test and spider test (Ziagkas et al, 2019). Two RCTs (Rathore, 2016;Ziagkas et al, 2019) show that EG vs. CG substantially increased agility performance (hexagon test, spider test, Illinois test; p < 0.0001).…”

“…Two RCTs (Rathore, 2016;Ziagkas et al, 2019) show that EG vs. CG substantially increased agility performance (hexagon test, spider test, Illinois test; p < 0.0001). Among non-RCTs, a statistically significant difference between the pre-and post-test in several agility tests (i.e., 5-0-5 test, T-test, Illinois test, tennis-specific agility test) was revealed by the EG of studies (Fernandez-Fernandez et al, 2016;Lakshmikanth et al, 2018;Mohanta et al, 2019). Moreover, Hotwani et al, 2021 revealed that 3 weeks of combining plyometric with sprint training sessions resulted in an extremely significant (p < 0.0001) gain in agility (Illinois test and T-test).…”

Physical training tennis serve performance on adolescent: A systematic review

“…Plyometric training has been shown to have a significant positive impact on tennis serve performance in adolescent players. Studies have demonstrated that incorporating plyometric exercises into training routines can lead to improvements in various physical qualities essential for tennis, such as agility, speed, and power(Fernandez-Fernandez et al, 2016;Gelen et al, 2012;Lakshmikanth et al, 2018) Specifically, and research has highlighted that plyometric training, when combined with regular tennis training, results in enhanced physical qualities crucial for tennis players, including serve velocity, agility, and overall performance movements. The findings suggest that integrating plyometric exercises into the training regimen of adolescent tennis players can lead to notable improvements in serve performance, contributing to their overall athletic development and competitive edge on the court.…”