ON-COURT ENDURANCE AND PERFORMANCE TESTING IN COMPETITIVE MALE TENNIS PLAYERS

Baiget, E, Fernandez-Fernandez, J, Iglesias, X, Vallejo, L, and Rodriguez, FA. On-court endurance and performance testing in competitive male tennis players. J Strength Cond Res 28(1): 256-264, 2014The aims of this study were (a) to establish a specific endurance test procedure for competitive tennis players, combining performance, physiological and technical parameters and (b) to determine the relationship between these parameters and their competitive levels. Thirty-eight competitive male tennis players (age, 18.2 +/- 1.3 years; height, 180 +/- 0.08 cm; body mass, 72.7 +/- 8.6 kg; mean +/- SD) performed a specific endurance field test. Performance (level achieved), physiological (heart rate, maximum oxygen uptake (V.o(2)max), and ventilatory thresholds (VT1, VT2), and technical parameters (technical effectiveness [TE]) were assessed. Bivariate and multivariate models for predicting performance level were developed. Technical effectiveness was 63.1 +/- 9.1%, with 3 identified phases throughout the test (adaptation, maximum effectiveness, and steady decline). Low to moderate correlations were found between performance (final stage), physiological (VT1, VT2) and TE, and competitive performance (r = 0.35-0.61; p = 0.038-0.000). Technical effectiveness explained 37% of variability in competitive performance (r = 0.61; p = 0.001). Using TE combined with VT2 or predictability increased explaining approximately 55% (p < 0.05) of the variance in competitive performance. The present study showed the usefulness of a field test including physiological and performance elements in high-caliber tennis players, and VT2 values combined with TE were good predictors of tennis performance.