The physical and physiological demands of single tennis match in junior state-level players

Abstract

Tennis is of intermittent type of game and the physiological demand may vary largely depending on surface, equipment, tactical approach, duration of the match and by environmental factors such as temperature and humidity (Christmass et al., 1995; Lees, 2003). Performance of singles tennis involves both aerobic and anaerobic (alactic and glycolytic) metabolism (USTA, 1998; Fernandez et al., 2006). Theoretically, combined with the need for rapid movement and explosive stroke production implicate phosphocreatine as a key component of energy supply in tennis as the activities were executed in a short duration (USTA, 1998). However, the duration of rallies may vary depending on the court surface and the opponent (Kovacs, 2006) and recovery from anaerobic work is performed aerobically (USTA, 1998; Chandler, 2000). Since tennis play is intermittent, the metabolic pathway of energy production varies depending on specifically what the player is doing at a given moment