Effects of Plyometric Training on Serve Performance of Male Adolescent Tennis Players

Oral Presentation

Abstract

Tennis players must possess a combination of speed, agility, and power, as well as a high level of cardiovascular fitness, due to repetitive high-intensity efforts of the game. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of an 9-week plyometric training (PT) combined with regular tennis training on serve performance of male adolescents tennis players. With institutional ethics approval, twenty-four adolescent male tennis players (16.01 ± 1.34 years) were randomly assigned to a plyometric training group (PG, n = 12), and a control group (CG, n = 12) before the pre-test. Both groups continued their regular technical and tactical tennis training. Additionally, PG attended plyometric training through 9-week, two days per week and two sessions (60 min, d-1) while CG restricted from plyometric training. Pre- and posttests included: anthropometric measures; Sargent jump test (SJT); Medicine Ball Javelin Quadrathlon test (MJQT); and ITN test. All the differences were considered significance 95% of confidence level (P<0.05). The “Paired T test” analysis showed significant improvement in all the parameters analyzed (P-value = 0.000). The plyometric training programme improved explosive power and serve performance of of the subjects. PT has been demonstrated to be a significant stimulus for improving explosive movements in young tennis players. Therefore, PT can be recommended to the tennis players and their coaches in addition to the regular technical training.