Abstract
Despite the large number of studies that have examined the acute effects of different warm up modalities (WU) on physical performance, none of them have documented the time course of potential performance recovery in tennis players. The aim of this study was twofold: (a) to analyze and compare the acute effects of two different WU modalities (traditional WU [TWU] and dynamic WU [DWU]) on physical performance (i.e., CMJ, sprint, serve speed and accuracy) in elite junior players, as well as (b) to monitor the time course of any WU-induced changes after 30 and 60 min of simulated match-play. Twelve junior elite players completed both WUs modalities (TWU and DWU) in a counterbalanced order on separate days. In each experimental session, counter movement jump (CMJ), 20-m sprint, tennis serve speed and accuracy tests were performed before (immediately after TWU or DWU) during (30 min) and after 60 min of a simulated match play. Measures were compared via four factorial (WU intervention and time) repeated measures ANOVAs. There were main effects of WU (TWU and DWU) throughout the time for all the variables analysed. The results indicate that DWU routine led to significantly faster 20 m sprint times and higher CMJs as well as faster and more accurate tennis serves at both post warm-up and 30 min match-play testing moments in comparison with the scores reported by the TWU routine (p < 0.05; positive effects with a probability of >75–99%). No significant intergroup differences were found at 60-min match-play testing moment in any variable (except for the 20 m sprint). Therefore, the findings of this study recommend for optimal performance in these elite tennis players, DWU routines should be performed prior to formal training and competition rather than TWU routines.
Highlights
Tennis has experienced a significant increase in popularity in recent years, with more than 75 million people participating both, at recreational or professional levels [1]
The DWU routine reported significantly faster 20 m sprint times, higher counter movement jump (CMJ) as well as faster and more accurate tennis serves scores at both post warm-up routines (WU) and 30 min match-play testing moments in comparison with the scores reported by the traditional WU (TWU) routine (p < 0.05; negative effects with a probability of >75–99%; d = 0.20–1.03)
The primary findings of the present study showed that performing a DWU routine including active aerobic activities, DS and tennis-specific skills led to higher jumping heights, faster sprint times as well as superior serve performance compared with a TWU routine with stretching exercises (SS) followed by tennis-specific skills
Summary
Tennis has experienced a significant increase in popularity in recent years, with more than 75 million people participating both, at recreational or professional levels [1]. And similar to other sports, tennis-specific WUs have included some active aerobic activities (including running, light calisthenics), static stretching exercises (SS) of the major muscle groups and sport-specific movements incorporating various range of motion exercises with skills-based drills executed at, or just below game intensity [2]. The SS component of traditional WU (TWU) routines in many sports, including tennis, has demonstrated an acute negative effect on isolate physical performance variables (e.g. vertical jump, sprint, agility) [4, 5]. It is still unknown whether the negative effect of SS on maximal muscular performance might remain even when followed by additional sport-specific WU component. Whereas some studies have reported that the sport-specific component of the TWU attenuated the negative effect of SS on maximal muscular performance [6,7,8,9], other studies have not reported any damped effect of the sport-specific component [10,11,12]
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