Search

Motor imagery training is a common mental strategy used by tennis players and coaches to improve learning and performance; however, the effect of motor imagery training on service performance in tennis players is questionable. This review aims to consolidate existing research regarding the effects of motor imagery training on the service performance of tennis players. A systematic search was conducted following the PRISMA guidelines, using PubMed, Web of Science, SCOPUS, and SPORTDiscus to identify articles published until December 2023. Eligible studies comprised controlled trials that investigated the impact of motor imagery on service performance outcomes in tennis players. The methodological quality of individual studies was assessed using the Cochrane RoB-2 and ROBINS-I tools. GRADE was applied to assess the certainty of the evidence. Nine trials including 548 participants met the inclusion criteria. The results indicated that motor imagery training improved service accuracy and technique but did not affect service speed or return accuracy in tennis players. In conclusion, the certainty of the evidence that motor imagery training may be effective in improving service accuracy and technique in tennis players is low to very low. However, more experimental work is needed to obtain stronger conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motor imagery training is a common mental strategy used by tennis players and coaches to improve learning and performance; however, the effect of motor imagery training on service performance in tennis players is questionable. This review aims to consolidate existing research regarding the effects of motor imagery training on the service performance of tennis players. A systematic search was conducted following the PRISMA guidelines, using PubMed, Web of Science, SCOPUS, and SPORTDiscus to identify articles published until December 2023. Eligible studies comprised controlled trials that investigated the impact of motor imagery on service performance outcomes in tennis players. The methodological quality of individual studies was assessed using the Cochrane RoB-2 and ROBINS-I tools. GRADE was applied to assess the certainty of the evidence. Nine trials including 548 participants met the inclusion criteria. The results indicated that motor imagery training improved service accuracy and technique but did not affect service speed or return accuracy in tennis players. In conclusion, the certainty of the evidence that motor imagery training may be effective in improving service accuracy and technique in tennis players is low to very low. However, more experimental work is needed to obtain stronger conclusions.

Purpose: To examine the postactivation potentiation effect on serve velocity and accuracy in young competition tennis players using complex training, and comparing different upper and lower body heavy-load resistance exercises (HLRE). Methods: Fifteen competition tennis players (9 boys and 6 girls; age 15.6 [1.5] y) performed 1 control session and 3 experimental sessions using HLRE in a crossover randomized design: (1) bench press, (2) half squat, (3) bench press plus half squat, and (4) control trial. HLRE were performed by accomplishing 3 sets of 3 repetitions when bench press or half squat conditions were performed and 2 sets of 3 repetitions of each exercise when bench press plus half squat condition was performed at 80% 1-repetition maximum, lifting the load at maximum speed. To assess the serve velocity and accuracy, all participants performed 32 flat serves after the HLRE, divided into 4 sets of 8 serves (0, 5, 10, and 15 min postexercise), resting 20 seconds between serves, and 2 minutes and 40 seconds between sets. Results: There were no significant (P >.05) differences in ball velocity and accuracy following each recovery time and exercise, compared with the basal situation. Conclusions: These results suggest that complex training using HLRE is not a useful method for eliciting the postactivation potentiation effect in tennis serve and does not have any effect in serve accuracy in young competition tennis players. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the influences of tennis service exercise on cardiac output (CO) and bilateral brachial hemodynamics in young tennis players.Design: Experimental study.Methods: Ten young male tennis players (21 ± 2 years of age) participated. Each performed 100 tennis services without a return shot for experimental tennis exercise. Cardiovascular hemodynamic variables, including bilateral brachial blood flow (BF), shear rate (SR), blood pressure, and CO, were collected under three conditions: 1) baseline, 2) immediately after the tennis services (post), and 3) 1 h after the tennis services (1-hour). The positive incremental area under the curve (iAUC) for brachial hemodynamic variables was calculated.Results: Immediately after the 100 tennis services, CO, brachial BF, SR, and brachial vascular conductance (VC) in the dominant and non-dominant arms increased (p < 0.05). At the 1-hour condition, CO returned to baseline; the brachial BF, SR, and VC in the non-dominant arm returned to baseline levels, whereas the same variables in the dominant arm remained increased. The iAUC for brachial BF and VC in the dominant arm was higher than that in the non-dominant arm. Furthermore, the brachial BF/CO ratio index in the dominant arm increased at the post and 1-hour conditions, whereas that in the non-dominant arm was unchanged.Conclusions: Tennis service exercise specifically increases brachial BF, SR, and VC in the dominant arm, independent of increased CO. Our findings contribute to unveiling the underlying mechanisms of brachial artery adaptations in tennis players. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tennis service is an important part of winning a match. This study analyzed the mechanics of tennis serving speed and divided ten tennis players into two groups. One group carried out conventional training, while the other group carried out auxiliary training on shoulders through elastic band besides conventional training. The actions were photographed by cameras and analyzed. The results showed that the throwing height and hitting point height of the two groups improved after the experiment, and p < 0.05 in the comparison between Groups A and B; the ball deflection angle reduced after throwing, but the improvement of Group B was more significant compared to Group A (p < 0.05); the service speed and success rate also significantly improved in Group B, i. e., the performance of Group B was better (p < 0.05). The results show that shoulder training plays a positive role in improving the service speed and the video analysis method is reliable in training, which is conducive to improving the training efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effect of a 7-week strength and flexibility program on the shoulder kinetic ability and the tennis service velocity. In the present study 29 boys and 31 girls participated which were 9--12 year old junior tennis players with at least 2 years of tennis experience. The subjects were randomly assigned into 3 groups: a) 1st group--which followed a 7-week flexibility program and an additional 15 minutes service training 3 times per week after the tennis session, b) 2nd group--which followed a 7-week strength and flexibility program and an additional 15 minutes service training 3 times per week after the tennis session, c) 3rd group--control group, which did not follow any extra programs after the tennis session. Two-way repeated measures analysis of variance was performed to detect differences in each group with the repeat factor "test" before and after the experimental period. Results showed that the 2nd group athletes showed significant improvement on shoulder kinetic ability and both experimental groups showed improvement on service velocity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Kronos is the property of Revista Kronos and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

An abstract of the article "The Importance of Service in Grand Slam Singles Tennis," by Peter G. O'Donoghue and Emily Brown is presented.

The purpose of this study was investigate the influence that the learning of volleyball service exerts on the performance of the tennis service, in girls between 12 and 14 years old. The research was carried through in the Public School João Vieira de Almeida, in São Paulo. The students were divided in two groups: the experimental group (GE) and the control group (GC). For the first one, lessons on the volleyball service had been given, where in the end, the participants had practiced a total of 240 services, whereas that the control group was not submitted to this treatment. This research enclosed three phases of learning: acquisition, retention and transference. The gotten results had allowed to assume that the experimental group got a better performance in the execution of the tennis services, presenting average superiors than the control group, that had not carried through the learning. Therefore, accepted that the learning of a motor gesture of a motor ability for another is possible to occur with effectiveness, the effect of transference found in this study was, in general, positive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During recent years the number of tennis athletes has increased significantly. When playing tennis, the human body is exposed to many situations which can lead to human injuries, such as the so-called tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis). In this work a biomechanical analysis of tennis athletes, particularly during the service, was performed, considering three different types of over-grip and the presence of one anti-vibrator device. One part of the study evaluates the exposure to hand-arm vibration of the athlete, based on the European Directive 2002/44/EC concerning the minimum health and safety requirements, regarding the exposure of workers to risks from physical agents. The second part of the study considers an infrared thermography analysis in order to identify signs of risk of injury, particularly tennis elbow, one of the most common injuries in this sport. The results show that the presence of the anti-vibrator influences the vibration values greatly in the case of athletes with more experience and also for athletes with less performance. The presence of the Cork and/or Tourna on the racket grip does not have any significant effect on the hand-arm vibration (HAV), similarly in the case of athletes with the best performance and athletes with less technique. The results indicated that the infrared thermography technique may be used to identify the risk of injuries in tennis players.