Physiological and performance effects of a simulated prolonged service game in competitive male tennis players
- Centre of Research, Education, Innovation and Intervention in Sport (CIFI2D) and Porto Biomechanics Laboratory (LABIOMEP), Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
- Faculty of Rehabilitation, Jozef Pilsudski University of Physical Education in Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
- Center of Sports Research, Miguel Hernández University of Elche, Elche, Spain
- Faculty of Physical Activity and Sports Sciences, Universidad de León, León 24004, Spain
- AMRED, Human Movement and Sports Performance Analysis, Universidad de León, 24007 León, Spain
Biol Sport.2026;43:1427-1435
Online publish date: 2026/05/20
This study investigated the acute physiological and performance responses to a simulated prolonged service game designed to replicate the most demanding phases of competitive tennis. Fourteen nationally ranked male players (17.8 ± 0.9 y) performed 12 consecutive maximal intensity serves, each immediately followed by eight alternating forehands and backhands. Internal load was monitored before, during and after the protocol using heart rate, oxygen uptake and venous blood samples (ammonia, creatine kinase, albumin, sodium, calcium, lactate and glucose). External load was quantified with a Doppler radar gun to measure ball speed and high-frame-rate video to assess serve precision. Statistical significance was set at p ≤ 0.05. Plasma concentrations of ammonia and creatine kinase (both p < 0.01), albumin, sodium, calcium (all p < 0.05), lactate (p < 0.01) and glucose (p < 0.05) increased from baseline to post-protocol. Heart rate and oxygen uptake rose rapidly in the initial phase and stabilized at ~85 and 62% of maximal values, respectively. Serve speed and precision began to decline from the sixth point onward, with reductions of 5.4 and 29%, coinciding with peak lactate and ammonia values. A prolonged service game imposes considerable anaerobic-metabolic, cardiovascular, and neuromuscular stress on competitive tennis players, producing measurable impairments in technical performance well before task completion. Systematic monitoring of blood metabolites and electrolytes can help coaches individualize recovery intervals and design conditioning programs that enhance players’ tolerance to repeated high-intensity serving, thereby preserving technical consistency under competitive fatigue conditions.
Keywords
Fatigue, Anaerobic metabolism, Electrolyte balance, Neuromuscular coordination, Motor performance
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