Fitness testing of tennis players: How valuable is it?

Abstract

In tennis, sport-specific technical skills are predominant factors, although a complex profile of physical performance factors is also required. The fitness test batteries assist in examining tennis players’ capabilities for performance at different levels in the laboratory as well as in the field, in the junior or elite level. While laboratory tests can be, and are, used to evaluate basic performance characteristics of athletes in most individual sports, in a more specific approach, field-based methods are better suited to the demands of complex intermittent sports like tennis. A regular test battery performed at different periods of the year allows to obtain an individual's performance profile, as well as the ability to prescribe individual training interventions. Thus, the aim of the present review was to describe and evaluate the different physical tests recommended and used by practitioners, sports scientists and institutions (national tennis federations).

Changes of standard physiological-perceptual markers and circulating MicroRNAs in response to tennis match-play: A case report of two elite players

“…On the first session, the players were examined in the laboratory for body height, mass, fat and fat-free mass as well as vertical jump height, peak torque of the knee extensor muscles, overhead medicine ball throw distance, one repetition maximum bench press, time to exhaustion, VO2max, ventilatory threshold and running economy. These variables were assessed to describe the anthropometric characteristics and fitness levels of the players (Fernandez-Fernandez et al, 2014). …”

Within - and between - Session Reliability of the Spider Drill Test to Assess Change of Direction Speed in Youth Tennis Athletes

“…Within typical tennis match play, literature reports the average point length to last less than 10 seconds, with an average of 4 changes of direction per point [9,10]. Proficient movement in multiple directions, especially the lateral plane of motion is required [7,11], and this is supported by time motion analysis data which has shown elite players average four changes in direction per point and approximately 1000 changes in direction per match [7].…”

“…Considering agility is an integral component to athletic success in tennis, Strength and Conditioning (S&C) coaches need to be able to successfully assess a player's performance for this physical attribute. The importance of a field-based assessment throughout the year has proven beneficial to an athlete's development, as coaches can then accurately monitors an athletes progress and highlight strengths and weaknesses in order to tailor training programmes accordingly [10][11][12].…”

A study on oxygen independent fitness (anaerobic capacity) in pre-collegiate boys of Vijayapur, North Karnataka, India

“…It is a good indicator of long anaerobic fitness, because it lasts 60 second. 12 This test is classified as an anaerobic endurance test because its duration is 60 second, exactly where the oxidative metabolism begins to predominate. 13 This test is primarily dependent on the glycolytic pathway for energy and is reliable as it takes into account a straight forward 60 second interval, which can be performed many times at precise level.…”