Variability and specificity training programs: Differences in backhand stroke of amateur tennis players

Abstract

The objective of the present work was to analyze the effect of two training programs based on variability and specificity, on the accuracy of the backhand stroke in tennis.Thirteen amateur tennis players participated in the study, who were distributed into three practice conditions: i) variability (n=4), ii) specificity (n=5), and iii) habitual practice (n=4).The players completed a total of 12 training sessions divided into 2 sessions per week lasting 90 minutes each. Each of the players and practice conditions were subjected to a series of tests, which were conducted at 3 different times: pre-test, post-test, and retention test (re-test), the latter after two weeks without practice.The data obtained, after an intra-subject analysis, showed different results according to tennis player, with greater improvements observed in the players who practiced with specificity and in their habitual manner.As for the variability in the results from the three practice conditions, lower values of accuracy were observed on the transverse axis (width) of the court, with respect to the longitudinal axis (length). Considering the results, the amateur tennis player coaches should apply low variability loads to achieve improvements on the performance of the backhand stroke. it would be interesting to determine the practice load that the training tasks entail in each tennis player, in this way the proposed tasks could be individually adapted to each athlete, providing an adequate stimulus to improve the accuracy of the tennis players.