Match and game performance variables in elite and junior men singles tennis players

Abstract

Junior players although easier approachable in terms of running tests and measurements, are less studied and examined particularly in such popular field of sports science as Performance Analysis. Most of the studies are focusing on elite athletes, whereas juniors are left without attention. This does not help them to successfully progress from junior to senior division. The aim of this study was to investigate the difference of the game structure between Elite Level (EL) and Junior Level (JL) single tennis players. A total of 14 matches were analyzed including semi-finals and finals of International tennis tournaments. The game structure variables selected for this study included match duration (MD), game (set) duration (SD), rallies per game (set) (RPS), shots per rally (SPR), rally length (RL), rest time between rallies (RT), ball in play in seconds (BLs) and ball in play in percentage (BP%). Independent Sample T-test and Mann-Whitney test depending on the normality of data distribution were used for the comparison of game variables between Elite Level and Junior Level. Number of rallies, rest time between rallies, ball in play in percentage, and match duration were tested using Independent Sample T-test. Mann-Whitney test was used for comparing set duration, ball in play in seconds, rally length and shots per rally. There were statistically significant differences among the two categories in number of rallies, ball in play in percentage, ball in play in seconds and rally length (all at p<0.05).