Tennis Experience Research Articles

Effects of Grip Style and Contact Point on Force Production in a Tennis Forehand Groundstroke.

Modern tennis forehand grip style and ball contact points have evolved to enhance power and topspin. Different grip styles and ball contacts are recommended; however, little data are available to support one over another. Through a quantitative experimental study, we sought to determine which grip style and ball contact point produced the greatest forces at static contact. The continental, eastern, and semi-western forehand groundstroke grips of 100 volunteers were evaluated. Participants stood in three defined positions and applied maximum force against a dynamometer with each grip style. The associations of force produced at contact with the grip style, age, sex, tennis experience, and handedness were evaluated using univariate and multivariate linear mixed-effects regression models separately for early, mid, and late contact, including a random effect for each participant. Force production was significantly greater with eastern grip at early, mid, and late contact than with the other two grips (p < 0.001). Force was greater at early contact with semi-western grip than with continental. Force was also significantly greater for men at early, mid, and late contact (p < 0.001). Participants using an eastern grip were able to generate more force compared to those using a continental or semi-western grip, regardless of the ball contact point. Tennis players currently using other forehand grip styles who want to maximize power production may consider transitioning to an eastern forehand grip. The results of this study may improve tennis instruction and training for beginning and novice players who lack force generation.

Table tennis experience enhances motor control in older adults: Insights into sensorimotor-related cortical connectivity

BackgroundMotor control declines with age and requires effective connectivity between the sensorimotor cortex and the primary motor cortex (M1). Despite research indicating that physical exercise can improve motor control in older individuals the effect of physical exercise on neural connectivity in older adults remains to be elucidated. MethodsOlder adults with experience in table tennis and fit aerobics and individuals without such experience for comparison were recruited for the study. Differences in motor control were assessed using the stop-signal task. The impact of exercise experience on DLPFC-M1 and pre-SMA-M1 neural connectivity was assessed with transcranial magnetic stimulation. Varied time intervals (short and long term) and stimulus intensities (subthreshold and suprathreshold) were used to explore neural connectivity across pathways. ResultsThe present study showed that behavioral iexpression of the table tennis group was significantly better than the other two groups;The facilitatory regulation of preSMA-M1 in all groups is negatively correlated with SSRT. Regulatory efficiency was highest in the table tennis group. Only the neural network regulatory ability of the Table Tennis group showed a negative correlation with SSRT; Inhibitory regulation of DLPFC-M1 was positively correlated with SSRT; this effect was most robust in the table tennis group. ConclusionThe preliminary findings of this study suggest that table tennis exercise may enhance the motor system regulated by neural networks and stabilize inhibitory regulation of DLPFC-M1, thereby affecting motor control in older adults.

A Collective Case Study of Parent–Athlete–Coach Triads in British Youth Tennis

While important for athletic development and well-being in youth sport, knowledge remains limited around the processes underpinning triadic relationships between parents, athletes, and coaches. This study aimed to examine the relational processes that drive the functioning of parent–athlete–coach triads across three developmental stages of youth tennis. Using a collective-case-study design, 10 players, 10 coaches, and 9 mothers completed preinterview tasks and semistructured interviews and provided conversational history. Reflexive thematic analysis led to the generation of two higher order themes: foundations of relationship quality and factors enabling team effectiveness. Findings highlighted how specific relationship qualities (i.e., commitment, trust, respect, and parent–coach proximity) and team effectiveness constructs (i.e., shared goals, collaborative and adjusted roles, support, and role-specific communication) served to facilitate the tennis experience for triads. Scholars are encouraged to consider integrating small-group principles (e.g., team building) into tailored support programs that address the psychosocial needs of the triad.

Influence of sport expertise in facilitating and inhibiting the recognition of the opponent's intentions in sailing.

Starting from the proposed role of the mirror neuron system in the recognition of the intention underlying the actions of others, an experimental paradigm was implemented to test the role of sailing motor expertise in predicting the outcome of a competitor's action. It was hypothesized that subjects with experience in sailing would correctly interpret the maneuver performed due to the activation of domain specific motor representations of the same movements and that subjects who practiced a sport different from sailing would perform worse because of the activation of irrelevant motor patterns. For doing so, a series of video clips, in which a professional sailor performed a tack or a feint, have been manipulated so that the video clips would stop at the moment of the dunkin, namely, when the boat acquires speed to tack or continue straight ahead. The task consisted in predicting whether the action following the dunkin was an actual tack or a feint. The performance of 87 subjects, divided into three subgroups (sailors, tennis players, sedentary), was evaluated in terms of accuracy in identifying the sailor's intentions and correlated to age, gender, manual dominance, education, job, hours spent weekly playing videogames, and experience in playing sports. Results showed that the percentage of correct identifications of the intention to do a tack or feint was the highest in the group of sailors and the lowest in tennis players. An inverse relation between tennis experience and ability in recognizing the sailor's intention was found in the group of tennis players. Gender, age, manual dominance, education, job, and experience with videogames were not found to be correlated with performance. Findings support the possible implication of the mirror neuron system in maneuver detection in sailing and may be a starting point for the development of psychological training in this sport.

Comparison of covid-19 Fear and perceived Stress Level in Tennis Players with Positivie and Negative PCR Results at Elazig/Turkiye

This study aimed to the examine the fear of COVID-19 and perceived stress levels of tennis players with positive and negative PCR tests during the COVID-19 pandemic.In this study, COVID-19 fear and perceived stress levels of tennis players with positive and negative PCR in Elazig province, who continue to play tennis despite the pandemic period, were compared. The PCR test result was analyzed by taking into account the variables of gender, education level, age and duration of tennis experience. The sample of this study was determined by the accessible sampling method including 34 participants with positive PCR test status and 16 participants who were over the age of 10-49 and 16 participants who were negative questionnaire technique was used in the research. Data were collected between November 2021 and January 2022.COVID-19 fear and perceived stress level of the participants were measured. Since the data did not show a normal distribution, PCR test distributions depending on gender, age groups, education level, tennis playing time were shown in crosstables. Mann Whitney U test was used to compare the fear of COVID-19 and perceived stress levels according to gender and PCR test status. The results of this study showed that the probability of being PCR negative increased due to the increase in the duration of playing tennis in both females and males and the fear of COVID-19 and perceived stress levels did not differ between PCR positive and negative ones.In addition, as the level of education increases, the perception of insufficient self-efficacy subdimension of the perceived stress scale decreases. In conclusion, the probability of being PCR negative increases as the age groups increase. On the other hand, there is a positive correlation between the years of playing tennis in both males and females and the probability of being PCR negative.

Evaluation of the reciprocal teaching style in tennis

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the Reciprocal Teaching Style (hereinafter R.T.S.), in basic strokes of tennis, such as forehand, backhand and service, and at the same time to investigate whether it affects the development of motor skills. The first part of the research consisted of 102 children aged 14-15 years with no previous experience in Tennis. There were held 12 lessons for the first two strokes (forehand and backhand) and then 8 lessons for the service to students in 6 classes of third -grade Junior High School students in 2 different schools. The sample members were divided into two groups (experimental and control), and the data were processed in the statistical program IBM SPSS 24 using the t-test for independent samples before and after the intervention with a significance level of (p &lt;.05). The survey showed that the performance of the participants was improved in tennis in the forehand, backhand and service in both teams (especially in the E.G.), after finding a statistically significant difference in the scores (increasing the mean of consecutive strokes and accuracy). In the second part of the research, the sample consisted of 408 students aged 12-15, 204 students in High Schools of the Municipalities of Tanagra and Chalkida, as well as 204 from tennis clubs of the Municipalities of Larissa, Chalkida and Thebes. A detailed plan of one hour reciprocal teaching was applied to the 3 main aforementioned tennis strokes and at the end the participants were given as a measuring tool, anonymously and confidentially the questionnaire of Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI) by McAuley et al. (1989). Data processing in IBM SPSS 24 via one-way variance analysis (One-Way Anova) gave the results: There is a statistically significant difference between the first-grade and second-grade High School classes in the effort which is due to a systematic factor and the pleasure, the perceived ability, the pressure, the attitude / opinion towards tennis, the intention to try tennis and the physical activity are influenced by the highest level of education completed by the father.

Perceived self-efficacy by Under-10 tennis players when scaling the equipment and play area

The modification of child-sports aims to develop an optimal learning environment that facilitates the emergence of desirable psychological outcomes (e.g., self-efficacy). The aim of the study was to assess the effect of reducing net height and court size on self-efficacy and shot-efficacy of U-10 tennis players in a real-game context. Twenty U-10 tennis players (M = 9.46, SD = 0.66 years of age; M = 3.65, SD = 1.53 years of tennis experience) played two round-robin tournaments one week apart in the same order and schedule. The first tournament was played under the International Tennis Federation’s Tennis 10s regulation at green stage (GT). Afterwards, the modified tournament (MT) was played with the same regulation GT, however, net height (0.91 m–0.80 m) and court size (23.77 m × 8.23 m–18.00 m × 8.23 m) were reduced. Results accomplished using Bayesian and Frequentist inferences showed an increase in players’ self-efficacy when serving in MT than GT (BF10 = 4.796; δ = −0.576; and p = .011). This is increase may be due to a reduction in their serving faults in MT (BF10 = 6.169; δ = −0.591; and p = .010). Therefore, reducing net height and court size enhances the serve performance and self-efficacy and thus promotes positive tennis experiences.

Regular Tennis Exercise May Improve the Vascular Endothelial Function in Postmenopausal Women: The Influence of Hemodynamics

Physical inactivity plays a role in the incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Although the current guidelines for physical activity, such as the prescription of exercise, seek to combat CVD, attaining the recommended targets remains challenging. Tennis exercise has been proven to have a unique advantage in reducing the mortality of CVD, but little is known about the influence of playing tennis on impaired vascular endothelial function (VEF), which initiates CVD. Thus, this study aimed to investigate whether regular tennis participation could protect the VEF better than merely meeting the physical activity recommended by the current guidelines. A cross-sectional design was performed based on a sample of 38 healthy postmenopausal women who were matched for physical activity, of which 17 subjects had long-term tennis experience and 21 age-matched subjects regularly exercised but did not play tennis. The cardiovascular function and the body composition of all subjects were measured. We used cluster analysis to assess the overall health status. The modeling results showed that the tennis players performed better in terms of VEF than the nonplayers (10.55 ± 0.58 vs. 8.69 ± 0.52, p < 0.01, R2ad = 0.367), while the wall shear stress positively correlated with VEF (r = 0.505, p < 0.05), after controlling for age and physical activity levels. Regular tennis exercise may be a protective factor for VEF, and further study should be performed to research the role of hemodynamics in tennis exercise.

Association between tennis training experience and executive function in children aged 8-12.

Cognitively engaging activities have been shown to facilitate the improvement of executive functions in children. However, a limited number of studies have investigated whether the relationship between dose parameters of physical activities and executive functions, and heterogeneity exists. In the present study, we aim to explore the association between tennis training experience and executive functions in children. Sixty children between the ages of 8 and 12 were recruited in this study and were allocated to the short-term (ST) group (<12 months, n = 30) and the long-term (LT) group (more than 12 months, n = 30). The abilities of inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, and working memory were measured by the Stop-signal task, Switching task, and N-back task, respectively. There was no significant group difference in either the accuracy or reaction time of the Stop-signal task. No significant difference between the groups' accuracy in the Switching task was observed. However, the LT group presented a shorter reaction time than the ST group (731.69 ± 149.23 ms vs. 857.15 ± 157.99 ms, P < 0.01) in the Switching task. Additionally, training experience was positively associated with the reaction time of the Switching task. As for the N-back task, in comparison with the LT group, the ST group showed a longer reaction time (711.37 ± 168.14 ms vs. 164.75 ± 635.88 ms, P < 0.05). Moreover, training experience was also positively associated with the reaction time of the N-back task. But there was no significant group difference in the accuracy of the N-back task. In conclusion, children trained for over 1 year have better performance in cognitive flexibility and working memory than those trained in <1 year; thus, tennis experience is positively associated with executive functions.

The Relationships of Sleep Duration and Inconsistency With the Athletic Performance of Collegiate Soft Tennis Players.

We evaluated the relationships of daily sleep duration and inconsistency with soft tennis competitive performance among 15 healthy collegiate soft tennis players (13 male, 2 female, mean age = 19.7 ± 0.8 years, height = 170.8 ± 7.3 cm, weight = 60.3 ± 5.6 kg, soft tennis experience = 8.7 ± 2.0 years). Sleep duration and inconsistency were determined by a 50-day sleep diary, which recorded sleep and wake times of sleep. Soft tennis athletic performance was evaluated by a service and baseline stroke accuracy test and the spider run test. Mean sleep duration was 7.4 ± 1.7 h. No correlation was found between long-term mean sleep duration and athletic performance. But inconsistency in sleep duration (SD of sleep duration) was inversely correlated with service score after controlling for soft tennis experience and sex (r = −0.56, p = 0.046). There was no significant relationship between sleep inconsistency and other athletic performance. This result indicates that reducing the instability of sleep duration (i.e., sleep regular hours) in the long-term may have a positive effect on soft tennis players’ service performance. Although participants’ current mean sleep duration (7.4 h) was not as sufficient as the recommendation in sleep extension experiments (9–10 h), it revealed the importance for athletes to maintain regular sleep in daily life.

Investigating the role of age and maturation on the association between tennis experience and cognitive function in junior beginner to intermediate-level tennis players

Sport engagement, including tennis, and physical activity have been shown to have a positive influence on cognition in children. However, age has also been found to have a strong association with cognition in youth athletes. This study examines the threshold hypothesis by investigating the moderating role of age and maturation on the association between tennis experience and cognitive measures in Australian and German junior beginner to intermediate-level tennis players. The demographic information, which includes years of tennis experience, and anthropometrics (e.g. height and weight) was collected for 48 junior tennis players. A comprehensive cognitive testing battery was then completed to assess cognitive performance, with a principle component analysis used to determine an overall cognitive performance score. Multiple regression analyses were then performed to test the relationship between tennis experience and cognitive performance as well as the moderating effects of age and maturation. The results of this study indicate that the age and maturation rather than the exposure to tennis training are related to cognitive performance. Additionally, the positive relations of tennis experience to cognitive performance were stronger in younger participants, specifically those younger than 12 years old. Therefore, tennis may not provide a stimulus large enough for further cognitive improvement once players have developed a high level of cognitive performance. While age and biological maturity will largely dictate cognitive performance in adolescents, tennis experience may play some role in the cognitive performance of children (specifically &lt;12 years of age).

Individualisation of the training process of tennis players using the heart rate monitor

This study aims to demonstrate the efficiency and necessity of heart rate monitoring and especially individualising workouts depending on each athlete’s response to the effort provided in both training and everyday life. The study included a group of 6 female tennis players aged 13-14, with 6-7 years of tennis experience. The methods used to conduct this study were the following: bibliographic documentation, direct and indirect observation, testing and measurement, graphical method. In this research, the Polar M400 Heart Rate Monitor was used during the 14 weeks of training. Each girl athlete has her own device (watch and chest belt) and own Polar Flow account where data are transferred from the watch. The software allowed us to record data during the physical training and tennis training of athletes, as well as their daily activity expressed as a percentage. The assessments of tested parameters highlighted the following: the 50-minutes run at a pace of 150 beats per minute (bpm) recorded an average increase of 1.3 km, with a percentage increase of 19.78%; basal heart rate recorded an average decrease of 14.3 bpm, with a percentage increase of 18.14%; VO2 max recorded an average increase of 6 ml/kg/min, with a percentage increase of 10.81%. Differences between the initial and final tests indicate progress for each athlete, which means that the methodology of teaching training lessons has been efficient and therefore the performance of athletes has increased.

Difference in racket head trajectory and muscle activity between the standard volley and the drop volley in tennis

Among tennis coaches and players, the standard volley and drop volley are considered basically similar, but muscles need to be relaxed (deactivation) just at the moment of impact when hitting the drop volley. However, this is not evidence-based. The aim of this study was to clarify racket head trajectory and muscle activity during the drop volley and to compare them with those of the standard volley. We hypothesized that 1) the racket head would move less forward for the drop volley than for the standard volley and 2) the wrist and elbow muscles be relaxed for the drop volley at the time of ball impact. Eleven male college students with sufficient tennis experience volunteered to participate in this study. Wireless EMG sensors recorded activation of the four arm muscles. Each subject performed the standard volley or the drop volley with both a forehand and a backhand from a position near the net. Four high speed video cameras (300 Hz) were set up on the court to measure ball speed and racket head trajectory. Returned ball speed of the drop volley was significantly lower than that of the standard volley (p < 0.05). The racket head moved less forward than in the standard volley, supporting the first hypothesis. Muscle activity of the drop volley, just before and after ball impact for both the forehand and backhand, was lower than that of the standard volley. However, the activity was in the form of a gradual increase as impact time approached, rather than a sudden deactivation (relaxation), which did not support the second hypothesis. For the drop volley, lower muscle activity in the forearm enabled a softer grip and thus allowed a "flip" movement of the racket to diminish the speed of the returned ball.

Influence of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Mood and Training in Australian Community Tennis Players.

The COVID-19 outbreak has led to the implementation of strict restrictions in Australia, which have severely impacted sporting activities. Tennis is played by 6.2% of the population within the Oceania region, and is a valuable sport for maintaining social, mental, and physical health. Current literature indicates the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected the mental health of Australian residents. The aim of this study was to investigate changes in training and match play due to the outbreak, and its effects on emotional well-being of Australian senior tennis players. Additionally, explore any differences between middle aged (41–60 years) and senior (61 years and over) Australian tennis players. An online survey was used to assess training and match play habits, as well as ascertain the emotional well-being of tennis players. The survey was active from 24th April 2020 until 6th June 2020. Participants were adult (41+ years) tennis players from Australia. Wilcoxon signed rank tests were performed to check for differences in training hours and tennis matches played. Mann–Whitney U tests were used to assess the difference in Brief Emotional Experience Scale (BEES) scores, employment status as well as the training hours and tennis matches played between the two age groups. A Kendall's Tau B correlation test was performed to assess the associations of training, match play and demographic characteristics with BEES scores. Kruskal–Wallis tests assessed differences in BEES scores between participants of differing match play formats, tennis experience and cessation of tennis training time periods. There were 245 respondents who met our inclusion criteria. Tennis training hours along with the tennis matches played significantly decreased during COVID-19 compared to pre-COVID-19, 85.09 and 88.48%, respectively. No significant (p > 0.05) differences were observed between age groups for any of the training modality hours, nor was there any significant difference in number of tennis matches played. The participants average BEES score was 0.99 ± 1.27, indicating that respondents had a positive emotional well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. The emotional well-being of the senior group was significantly (P = 0.002) higher than the middle aged group. Together, our results show that training and tennis match play decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic, however the emotional well-being of senior tennis players in Australia appeared to not be negatively affected.

Do we agree on who is playing the ball? Developing a video-based measurement for Shared Mental Models in tennis doubles.

Sport teams work in complex environments in which each member's tasks are mutually dependent on those of the others. To function effectively, expert teams generate Shared Mental Models (SMMs) to help adapt their own behavior to that of the others and master upcoming actions. Although SMMs have been discussed in domains such as organizations, there is still little research in the context of sport. One reason for this is that measurement methods have failed to incorporate the dynamic nature of the sport context. This study reports on the development of a video-based measurement of SMMs in tennis doubles. It examined the quality criteria first in a pilot and then in a main study. The final video-based measurement consists of 35 tennis doubles video clips requiring decisions on ball-taking behavior in two conditions (Self and Partner). In the condition Self, participants reported their own responses; in the condition Partner, those of their partner. The main study analyzed 29 male tennis teams with a mean age of 34.57 years (SD = 12.25) and a mean of 22.79 years (SD = 10.49) tennis experience. SMMs were analyzed for each partner as the inter-player agreement (Self-Partner) and averaged for each team. After completing the video-based measurement, participants filled out questionnaires on SMMs, team trust, and demographics. Results indicated that not only the split-half reliability (r = .49), the content validity (ηp2 = .23), the inter-player agreement (r = .63), and the inter-player agreement and accuracy (r = .61), but also the feasibility of the measurement were good. However, no relationships to the proposed convergent or criterial validity measures were found. In sum, measuring SMMs with a video-based test is possible and a promising method. No relationship to the frequently used questionnaires was found, suggesting that the two target different parts of SMMs. Future research should carefully examine and choose the appropriate measurement.

FE Analysis Of Meniscus Injury In A Square Stance Tennis Forehand Drive-a Case Study

Meniscus tears are common among tennis players. Currently, little is known regarding knee joint kinematic and kinetic characteristics during a square stance tennis forehand that may lead to an increased risk of a meniscus injury. PURPOSE:To study loading characteristics of meniscus during a square stance tennis forehand swing using a dynamics model and a three-dimensional (3D) finite element model. METHODS: Two female Chinese players (age 14 y) with 6 years of competitive tennis experience performed three square stance tennis forehand drives. Of the two players, one had a lateral meniscus tear of the left knee joint and the other had no history of knee injury. Three-dimensional kinematic motion and ground reaction force data were collected using VICON and AMTI (120 Hz/1200Hz)and then imported into the OpenSIM software to obtain movement data of the tibia and femur. CT and MRI were used to image a healthy human knee that included the femur, tibia, cartilage layers, menisci and ligaments. 2D data were imported into Mimics software to develop a 3D finite element model of the healthy human knee. The 3D model was imported into HyperWorks software to compute the 3D finite-element models of the knee. Last, the loading data of the movement obtained from OpenSIM was imported and transformed into HyperWorks to obtain the distribution stress of the meniscus. RESULTS:Compared with the non-injury player, the athlete with the meniscus tear exhibited excessive tibia rotation, showed a higher level of biomechanical stress of the lateral meniscus and demonstrated greater peak value (figure 1,figure 2). CONCLUSION:In the acceleration stage of the square stance tennis forehand, differences were observed in the tibial rotation of the healthy and injured players leading one to speculate that the rotation of the knee joint may be related to meniscus injury. Additional studies are needed to verify this speculation and to infer causality.

Lower Trapezius Weakness and Shoulder Complex Biomechanics during the Tennis Serve.

This study aimed to assess the effect of lower trapezius (LT) weakness on humeral and scapular kinematics and shoulder muscle activity during the tennis serve. Fifteen competitive male tennis players (age, 23.8 ± 3.4 yr; height, 182.8 ± 6.7 cm; mass: 76.6 ± 8.7 kg; tennis experience: 15.6 ± 4.9 yr) performed two tennis serves before and after selective fatigue of the LT (25-min electric muscle stimulation). During each tennis serve, racket, humeral and scapular kinematics and the activity of 13 shoulder muscles were recorded using an optoelectronic system synchronized with indwelling and surface electromyography. The serve was split into five phases, that is, early and late cocking, acceleration, early and late follow-through. Selective fatigue led to a 22.5% ± 10.4% strength decrease but did not alter maximum racket speed and humerothoracic joint kinematics. However, increased scapular upward rotation was observed in the acceleration (P = 0.02) and early follow-through (P = 0.01) phases. Decreased muscular activity was observed during the early cocking phase for the LT (P = 0.01), during the acceleration phase for the LT (P = 0.01), anterior deltoid (P = 0.03), pectoralis major (P = 0.04), and subscapularis (P = 0.03), and during the early follow-through phase for the anterior deltoid (P = 0.03) and LT (P = 0.04). The LT weakness altered neither serve velocity nor humerothoracic joint kinematics, but impaired scapulothoracic kinematics and anterior shoulder muscle activation. Such alterations may reduce the subacromial space and jeopardize humeral head stability. These findings shed new light on the consequences of LT weakness, highlighting the importance of monitoring and strengthening this muscle in overhead athletes.

The Effect of Prior Tennis Experience on Wheelchair Tennis Players' Visual Search.

The purpose of this study was to examine whether prior biped tennis playing experience results in different visual search strategies compared with no prior biped playing experience. A total of 32 wheelchair (WC) tennis players, 17 males and 15 females, ranked between 1 and 16 on the International Tennis Federation rankings participated in this study. Half the players had prior experience playing tennis as a biped player, and half had no prior experience in biped tennis. The athletes viewed 18 different serves from an expert WC player while their gaze was monitored using eye tracking. Results revealed significant differences between the groups in fixation duration and number of fixations. Differences were also found in fixation locations and durations across biomechanical phases of the serve. The WC only players had more fixations for shorter periods than did WC with biped players in the ritual phase. In the preparatory and execution phases, however, the WC only players had fewer fixations for longer duration than the WC with biped players. Results are discussed in terms of long-term memory structures, learning, and considerations when coaching and training WC tennis players.

Relationships between tennis experience, executive function, and self-regulation of dietary behaviour in children

Physical inactivity and unbalanced dietary behaviour in childhood have become worldwide public health concerns. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between sports activity (tennis), executive functions, and dietary related self-regulation in children. Fifty-two participants (6–12 years old, 31 males and 21 females) were enrolled in regular tennis lessons prior to the study (mean ± SD = 3 ± 2 years). Executive functions and basic processing speed were evaluated using three tasks (the Stroop test, the 2-back task, and the Local-global task). Dietary behaviour (extent of dislike for food and ratio of eating disliked food) was evaluated using questionnaires. An established questionnaire available for use in clinical investigations, the Food Frequency Questionnaire based on food groups, was used to obtain a detailed assessment of food intake. Regression analyses demonstrated that tennis experience was positively associated with basic processing speed and executive functions. Furthermore, higher executive functions were related to a higher ratio of eating disliked food, while no such association was observed for basic processing speed. A higher ratio for eating disliked food was related to better dietary intake (i.e. larger vegetable intake). Structural equation modelling revealed that the model had an adequate fit to the data (χ2 = 3.05, p = .55, GFI = .98, AGFI = .92, RMSEA = .00). The model indicated the following cascade associations: tennis experience → executive functions → rate of eating disliked food → vegetable intake. This study implied that longer sports experience is associated with better dietary related self-regulation via higher executive functions.

Risk factors for musculoskeletal injuries in elite junior tennis players: a systematic review

ABSTRACTThe objective was to systematically review the literature on risk factors and prevention programs for musculoskeletal injuries among tennis players. PubmedMedline, Embase, CINAHL, Cochrane, SportDiscus were searched up to February 2017. Experts in clinical and epidemiological medicine were contacted to obtain additional studies.For risk factors, prospective cohort studies (n > 20) with a statistical analysis for injured and non-injured players were included and studies with a RCT design for prevention programs. Downs&Black checklist was assessed for risk of bias for risk factors. From a total of 4067 articles, five articles met our inclusion criteria for risk factors. No studies on effectiveness of prevention programs were identified. Quality of studies included varied from fair to excellent.Best evidence synthesis revealed moderate evidence for previous injury regardless of body location in general and fewer years of tennis experience for the occurrence of upper extremity injuries. Moderate evidence was found for lower back injuries, a previous back injury, playing >6hours/week and low lateral flexion of the neck for risk factors. Limited evidence was found for male gender as a risk factor.The risk factors identified can assist clinicians in developing prevention-strategies. Further studies should focus on risk factor evaluation in recreational adult tennis players.