Fatigue: the consequences of a tennis match, determined by 20 Hz GPS

Abstract The purpose of this study was to analyze the variations in technical-tactical and physical abilities as a result of the fatigue caused by a tennis match. The study was performed on two second-class tennis players (ITA), with a pre-post test protocol. The game was played under the ITF (International Tennis Federation) rules; for a defined total duration of 1 h and 30 min. The pre-post analysis covered the following capabilities: explosive strenght (EF) by Sergeant test, speed (V) was tested by the change of direction test, static equilibrium (SE) was evaluated with the stork test, the accuracy of the strokes (AC) was examined through the Loughborough Tennis Skill East: groundstrokes and finally the joint mobility (JM) was observed with the sit and reach test. The speed test was carried out using 20 Hz GPS (K-Sport Universal, Italy). The use of this instrument in tennis is still very rare; in scientific literature there are few published studies, as opposed to football, and other sports, where there are a considerable number of papers. The use of the GPS and the dedicated K-Fitness software (K-Sport Universal, ITA) allowed an accurate and objective analysis of performance elements, which we consider to be an initial step forward on qualification and quantification on performance parameters in Tennis.