Division of Movement and Training Sciences/Biomechanics of Sport, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany.
PLoS One. 2022 Jun 3;17(6):e0269516. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0269516. eCollection 2022.
Differences in variables of physical fitness and stroke performance by competition level (i.e., elite vs. sub-elite players) have not been systematically investigated yet. Thus, the objective of the systematic review with meta-analysis was to characterize and quantify competition-level dependent differences in physical fitness and stroke performance in healthy tennis players. A systematic literature search was conducted in the databases PubMed, Web of Science, and SportDiscus from their inception date till May 2022. Studies were included if they investigated healthy tennis players and reported at least one measure of physical fitness (e.g., lower extremity muscle power, endurance, agility, speed) or stroke performance (e.g., stroke velocity). Weighted standardized mean differences (SMD) were calculated and reported according to their magnitude. The search identified a total of N = 12,714 records, 16 of which met the inclusion criteria. Competition-level dependent differences in physical fitness and stroke performance were investigated by 11 and 10 studies, respectively. For physical fitness, moderate (lower extremity muscle power: SMD = 0.53; endurance: SMD = 0.59; agility: SMD = 0.54) and small (speed: SMD = 0.35) effects were detected; all in favour of elite tennis players. However, sub-group analyses revealed an influence of players' age showing higher SMD-values for adult than for young players. Further, a large effect (SMD = 1.00) was observed for stroke performance again in favour of elite tennis players. Lastly, a larger but not significantly different association between physical fitness and stroke performance was observed for elite (r = 0.562) compared to sub-elite (r = 0.372) tennis players. This systematic review and meta-analysis revealed better physical fitness and stroke performances in healthy elite compared to sub-elite tennis players. The greatest differences by competition level were shown in measures of lower extremity muscle power, endurance, and agility. Thus, training programs for sub-elite tennis players should place a special focus on these physical components.
不同比赛水平（即精英与次精英选手）的体能和击球表现的变量差异尚未系统研究。因此，本系统综述和荟萃分析的目的是描述和量化健康网球运动员中体能和击球表现的比赛水平依赖性差异。我们在 PubMed、Web of Science 和 SportDiscus 数据库中进行了系统的文献检索，检索范围从建库日期至 2022 年 5 月。如果研究调查了健康网球运动员并报告了至少一项体能（例如下肢肌肉力量、耐力、敏捷性、速度）或击球表现（例如击球速度）测量指标，则纳入研究。根据其大小计算并报告加权标准化均数差（SMD）。该检索共确定了 N = 12714 条记录，其中 16 项符合纳入标准。有 11 项和 10 项研究分别调查了体能和击球表现的比赛水平依赖性差异。对于体能，检测到中等（下肢肌肉力量：SMD = 0.53；耐力：SMD = 0.59；敏捷性：SMD = 0.54）和小（速度：SMD = 0.35）效应；所有效应均有利于精英网球运动员。然而，亚组分析显示出运动员年龄的影响，成年球员的 SMD 值高于年轻球员。此外，再次观察到击球表现的大效应（SMD = 1.00），同样有利于精英网球运动员。最后，对于精英（r = 0.562）和次精英（r = 0.372）网球运动员，体能和击球表现之间的关联更大，但无统计学差异。本系统综述和荟萃分析显示，健康精英网球运动员的体能和击球表现优于次精英运动员。比赛水平的最大差异表现在下肢肌肉力量、耐力和敏捷性的测量上。因此，次精英网球运动员的训练计划应特别关注这些身体素质。
