Abstract
Many tennis competitions are held in hot ambient conditions, which can negatively affect endurance, mental and cognitive functioning and/or motor performance. The purpose of this article is to take stock of the physical techniques and psychological strategies that tennis players can use to counteract the negative effect of the heat. In addition, a new direction based on the mindfulness technic is proposed in this article.
Highlights
Performing a sport such as tennis in the heat is physically demanding due to reduced neuromuscular function, increased individual’s core temperature, altered skeletal muscle metabolism and increased cardiovascular strain due to thermoregulation (Douzi, Dupuy, Theurot, Smolander, & Dugué, 2020; Nybo, Rasmussen, & Sawka, 2014)
Racinais et al (2015) argued that physically active acclimation under heat stress is the “most important intervention one can adopt to reduce physiological strain, optimize performance and reduce the risk of serious heat illness." In addition, fluid ingestion is really important because hot environments lead to increased sweating caused by physiological thermoregulatory processes (Schlader, Simmons, Stannard, & Mundel, 2011) that induce dehydration that is accentuated during exercise (Ando et al, 2015)
Heat stress and the hyperthermia caused by playing tennis in the heat induce physiological and cognitive strains that can degrade tennis performance and leading to potential risks for the players performing in hot ambient conditions
Summary
Performing a sport such as tennis in the heat is physically demanding due to reduced neuromuscular function, increased individual’s core temperature, altered skeletal muscle metabolism and increased cardiovascular strain due to thermoregulation (Douzi, Dupuy, Theurot, Smolander, & Dugué, 2020; Nybo, Rasmussen, & Sawka, 2014). Because of the heat, psychological strain via arousal (Nielsen, Hyldig, Bidstrup, Gonzalez-Alonso, & Christoffersen, 2001), reduced motivation (Bridge, Weller, Rayson, & Jones, 2003), increase in negative affects (Gaoua, Grantham, Racinais, & El Massioui, 2012) and decrease in positive affects (Robin et al, 2019) can negatively influence sport performance. The latter authors showed that a hot environment can decrease athletes’ accuracy in a task requiring concentration.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
