The development of fatigue during match-play tennis

Abstract

Data describing the activity profile and physiological characteristics of tennis match-play are extensive. However, these data have generally provided descriptive accounts of the one-off match-play of amateur or lowly ranked professional players lasting <3 h. Accordingly, these research efforts have likely failed to fully capture the demands of Grand Slam tennis match-play, particularly in the men's game where matches can last >5 h. Furthermore, there is a distinct lack of evidence-based insight regarding the manifestation of fatigue within and between tennis matches, notwithstanding that skeletal muscle function has been reported to reduce following prolonged match-play. Moreover, it is evident that match-play evokes pronounced and prolonged physiological, neuromuscular and psychological perturbations that may be exacerbated with consecutive days of match-play. Separate to these internal load responses, a collection of non-uniform movement and technical performance changes are reported, though rarely from match-play data. Consequently, direct or causal links between altered physiological or muscle contractile function and subsequent match-play outcomes are lacking. Indeed, emerging evidence seems to infer that players adjust their game strategy, and the resultant execution of stroke play, to accommodate any such deterioration in physiological function. The purpose of this review was to discuss the available literature in terms of the physiological, mechanical and psychological responses that occur during prolonged match-play in the context of their likely effect on match-play performance.

Prevention of perceptual‐motor decline by branched‐chain amino acids, arginine, citrulline after tennis match

“…Each point in our simulated match is composed of six strokes within 10 s. This is similar to the pace of 3–5 strokes per rally that lasts 6–10 s in international matches (Hornery et al., , b, c). The post‐exercise plasma lactate concentration in both trials in the current study was consistent with those observed in real match plays (Reid & Duffield, ).…”

“…The neuromuscular fatigue in tennis has been documented (Hornery et al., , b, c). It has been revealed that running speed and distance covered after prolonged match were significantly decreased (Reid & Duffield, ). Nevertheless, it is unclear whether it represents fatigue and/or the change in match strategy to preserve energy.…”

Tennis grunts communicate acoustic cues to sex and contest outcome

“…Professional players tire as matches progress (Reid & Duffield, 2014), but maintain constant serve speed and accuracy over the duration of long matches (Maquirriain, Baglione, & Cardey, 2016). Thus, the degradation of shot technique (e.g.…”

Exploring match performance of elite tennis players : the multifactorial game-related effects in Grand Slams

“…In addition, findings obtained from the related studies help to deepen the understanding of players' physiological, psychological fatigue triggered by match load and how they modified the pacing strategy, considering the decrease in physical, perceptual and neuromuscular status. This type of studies provided more evidence for a match-oriented fitness-conditioning programming (Gescheit, Cormack, Reid, & Duffield, 2015;Reid & Duffield, 2014).…”

“…The complexity and dynamics of tennis determine that player's game strategy and technicaltactical performance are critically influenced by a range of contextual-related constraints (Filipcic, Leskosek, & Filipcic, 2017;Ojala & Häkkinen, 2013;Pereira et al, 2018). The available research already evidenced that those constraints might be originated from the differences of match location (O'Donoghue & Ingram, 2001), players' qualities (Cui, Gómez, Gonçalves, Liu, & Sampaio, 2017) and weather condition of which players were conscious prior to a match (Morante & Brotherhood, 2007); and from the uncertainty of opponent's actual tactics (Ma et al, 2013), match score-line (O'Donoghue, 2012), spatial-temporal relationship among players and ball (Carvalho et al, 2013;Martinez-Gallego et al, 2013), physiological fatigue (Gomes et al, 2011;Reid & Duffield, 2014), noise of the audience (Dube & Tatz, 1991) and even the line-calling bias from referees that occurred within the match (Carboch et al, 2016). Therefore, adjusting to the constant change of those constraints and making correspondent tactical decisions should be an essential attribute reinforced in the development of professional tennis players (Murray & Hunfalvay, 2017;Triolet, Benguigui, Le Runigo, & Williams, 2013).…”