Impact of Fitness Characteristics on Tennis Performance in Elite Junior Tennis Players

Abstract

The impact of fitness characteristics on tennis performance in adolescent players is not clearly understood. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to test whether physical characteristics are related to players' competitive level (i.e., national youth ranking). A secondary aim was to compare adolescent tennis players by performance level (i.e., regional selected players and the national team). A total of 902 male and female junior players (aged, 11-16 years) in Germany were evaluated using a physical testing battery: grip strength; countermovement jump; 10 and 20-m sprint; tennis-specific sprint; overhead, forehand, and backhand medicine ball throws (MBT); serve velocity and tennis-specific endurance test (hit and turn tennis test). Results showed that serve velocity (r = -0.43 to 0.64 for female subjects [♀]; r = -0.33 to 0.49 for male subjects [♂]) and upper-body power (e.g., MBT r = -0.26 to -0.49 ♀; r = -0.20 to -0.49 ♂) were the most correlated predictors of tennis performance (i.e., national youth ranking) in both female and male tennis players. Moreover, national selected players showed better performance levels than their regional counterparts, mainly in the most predictive physical characteristics (i.e., serve velocity: effect size [ES], 0.78-1.04 ♀; ES 0.92-1.02 ♂, MBT: ES, 0.66-0.88 ♀; ES, 0.67-1.04 ♂) and specific endurance (ES, 0.05-0.95 ♀; ES, 0.31-0.73 ♂). The present findings underline the importance of certain physical attributes, especially serve velocity and strength- and power-related variables (upper body), and suggest the need to include these parameters in the area of training, physical testing, and talent identification of young tennis players.

The study of the correlations between handgrip strength and some anthropometric characteristics of upper extremity of elite and sub-elite Olympic style weightlifting athletes

“…We consider that observed values of higher HGS values might be associated with bigger anthropometric characteristics of upper extremity as well as active use of forearm and upper arm in different types of sports. Moreover, it was worth considering that although the age group of U16 female national tennis players in the study of Ulbricht et al [32] was smaller than the age group of sub-EWL in FWL in our study, they had higher HGS values. We surmise that these differences in observed HGS values might be because of differences in specific trainings unique to that type of sports.…”

“…It was found that D-HGS and ND-HGS values of athletes attending international tennis tournaments were higher than HGS values of sedentary individuals [8]. In a study of physical and performance characteristics of U12, U14 and U16 ages national and regional (male, female) tennis players It was reported that HGS of U12 age male national groups and U12 and U16 age female national groups was higher than HGS values of regional tennis players within the same groups [32]. It was observed that UAC and FAC values of male tennis players included in the study of Gojanovic et al [8] were smaller than UAC and FAC values of EWL and sub-EWL in MWL group in our study.…”

Technical and tactical skills related to performance levels in tennis: A systematic review

“…A player's ball velocity and success rate, combined with ball accuracy, are key determinants of his or her stroke quality (Landlinger, Stöggl, Lindinger, Wagner, & Müller, 2012;Strecker et al, 2011;Vergauwen, Madou, & Behets, 2004). The key role of ball velocity in relation to tennis performance is supported by the findings of Ulbricht, Fernandez-Fernandez, Mendez-Villanueva, and Ferrauti (2016), who measured correlations between players' physical qualities and tennis performance. Their findings revealed that serve velocity was most strongly correlated with players' rankings across all age categories, indicating the importance of ball velocity in tennis performance.…”

Analýza úrovně antropometrických a rychlostních charakteristik tenistů a tenistek ve věku 13–14 let

“…Je považována za jeden z klíčových kondičních faktorů podmiňujících sportovní výkon v tenisu (Fernandez-Fernandez et al, 2014;Ferrauti et al, 2014;Reid et al, 2003). Problematika rychlostních projevů jako významných faktorů determinující sportovní výkon v tenisu je velmi aktuální téma, kterému se věnuje řada autorů v mnoha starších i novějších publikacích (Crespo & Miley, 1998;Fernandez-Fernandez et al, 2014;Ferrauti et al, 2001;Ferrauti et al, 2014;Jeff reys, 2013;Schönborn, 2012;Ulbricht et al, 2016). Profesionální hráči a hráčky přikládají kondici velký význam, její trénink se stal nedílnou součástí jejich tréninkových programů jako jeden z možných předpokladů pro zvýšení celkové tenisové výkonnosti.…”

“…Tyto testy napodobují pohyb hráče při hře, kde je důležitá schopnost rychlé akcelerace a decerelace na krátkém úseku (Jeff reys, 2013). Vhodným prostředkem pro posouzení úrovně tenisově specifi cké rychlosti jsou tedy běžecké testy na krátkou vzdálenost se změnami směru, které jsou v zahraniční literatuře označovány jako "agility test" a jsou často součástí testových baterií pro posouzení úrovně kondičních schopností v tenisu (Crespo & Miley, 1998;Fernandez-Fernandez et al, 2014;Ferrauti et al, 2014;Ulbricht et al, 2016).…”