Report

Division, result and score margin alter the performance of elite wheelchair tennis players.

Differences in activity profiles exist between divisions in wheelchair tennis, although internal workload and technical performance are similar, as are the divisions responses to result and score margin.

Lead academic:
Barry Mason, Rienk van der Slikke
Additional academics:
Mike Hutchinson, Vicky Tolfrey
Funder:
Peter Harrison Centre

Introduction:

Wheelchair tennis (WT) has been described as an intermittent, multidirectional sport which is predominantly aerobic-based with short periods of high-intensity activity interspersed, and significant skill-based challenges also imposed on players during match-play.

To individualise exercise prescription, a thorough examination of both the physical and technical demands across divisions is needed. To further optimise the training environment, it is also important to establish which aspects of performance, both physical and technical, are most associated with successful performance in WT.

Study aim: 1) To establish the physical and technical demands of elite WT players and examine how these demands differ between divisions. 2) To determine the impact of set result and score margin on these parameters.

Methods:

Seventeen international WT players including players from the Men’s (n = 7), Women’s (n = 6) and Quad (n = 4) divisions, were monitored during a singles competition.

Physical measures of performance (distance, speed, acceleration, and rotational metrics) were collected using a radio frequency-based indoor tracking system and inertial measurement units.

Technical measures of performance (winners, errors, strokes per rally, etc.) were collected via video analysis.

Main findings:

  • Activity profiles were higher during Men’s matches in relation to both Women’s and Quad’s matches; and during Women’s matches in relation to Quad’s matches for most parameters.
  • Men hit fewer shots off 2 bounces, hit a lower percentage of forehands, won a higher percentage of points on serve and hit more volley winners than Women (P ≤ 0.035) and Quad’s (P ≤ 0.022).
  • Fewer strokes per rally were observed during Quad matches compared to Men’s (P = 0.027) and Women’s (P = 0.004) matches.
  • Differences in peak speed during winning and losing sets were trivial for Men (3.85 ± 0.37 vs. 3.83 ± 0.26 m∙s−1 respectively).
  • Small decreases were revealed for Women (3.32 ± 0.27 vs. 3.44 ± 0.24 m∙s−1 respectively) and moderate increases in peak speed were observed for Quad’s (3.32 ± 0.34 vs. 3.02 ± 0.16 m∙s−1 respectively) during losing sets compared to winning sets.
  • Women and Quad’s won a higher percentage of points on serve during winning sets. Whereas this percentage was higher for Men during losing sets.
  • Large differences in physical rather than technical performance existed between different divisions.
  • Technical measures of performance were affected by set result to a greater extent than physical performance.
  • Activity profiles were elevated during sets with a small score margin, whereas little effect on technical performance was observed.

Reference:

Mason BS, van der Slikke RMA, Hutchinson MJ, Goosey-Tolfrey VL. Division, result and score margin alter the physical and technical performance of elite wheelchair tennis players. J Sports Sci. 2020 Apr;38(8):937-944. DOI: 10.1080/02640414.2020.1737361. Epub 2020 Mar 5. PMID: 32138612.

 

Image credit: © Paralympics GB