Interlimb asymmetries in youth tennis players: relationships with performance
Author
Madruga-Parera, Marc
Bishop, Chris
Fort-Vanmeerhaeghe, Azahara
Beltran-Valls, Maria R.
Skok, Oliver G.
Romero-Rodríguez, Daniel
Publication date
2020ISSN
1064-8011
Abstract
Madruga-Parera, M, Bishop, C, Fort-Vanmeerhaeghe, A, Beltran-Valls, MR, Gonzalo-Skok, O, and Romero-Rodríguez, D. Interlimb asymmetries in youth tennis players: relationships with performance. J Strength Cond Res 34(10): 2815–2823, 2020—Change of direction speed (CODS) has been highlighted as a critical component of tennis. Interlimb asymmetries have been commonly studied in jump tests, but less attention given to the topic during CODS. The aim of this study was to quantify interlimb asymmetries in jumping and CODS (during traditional and isoinertial tests) and establish their relationship with measures of physical performance. Twenty-two elite youth tennis players (16.3 ± 1.4 years) performed single-leg countermovement jump (SLCMJ), single-leg broad jump, and single-leg lateral jump, a double 180° turn CODS test, and shuffle lateral step and crossover step with an isoinertial resistance device. Paired-samples t-tests revealed significant differences between limbs for all tests (p < 0.05). Interlimb asymmetry scores ranged from 1.83 to 15.03%, and a 1-way repeated-measures analysis of variance showed significant differences between interlimb asymmetry scores across multiple tests (p < 0.05). Spearman's rank order r correlations showed significant negative relationships between CODS asymmetry and SLCMJ performance on both limbs (r = −0.50; p = 0.02 and r = −0.53; p = 0.01) and CODS performance on both limbs (r = 0.50; p = 0.02 and r = 0.63; p = 0.002). These results show the test-specific nature of asymmetries in youth tennis athletes, with the SLCMJ presenting the greatest magnitude of asymmetry. Furthermore, interlimb differences during CODS were associated with reduced performance during jumping and CODS tests, suggesting the monitoring of asymmetries within this population may therefore be warranted.
Document Type
Article
Document version
Published version
Language
English
Subject (CDU)
61 - Medical sciences
Keywords
Medicina
Medicine
Pages
8
Publisher
Wolters Kluwer
Collection
34; 10
Is part of
Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
Citation
Madruga-Parera, Marc; Bishop, Chris; Fort-Vanmeerhaeghe, Azahara [et al.]. Interlimb asymmetries in youth tennis players: relationships with performance. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2020, 34(10), p. 2815-2823. Disponible en: <https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/fulltext/2020/10000/interlimb_asymmetries_in_youth_tennis_players_.14.aspx>. Fecha de acceso: 8 feb. 2024. DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000003152
This item appears in the following Collection(s)
- Ciències de la Salut [738]
Rights
© 2019 National Strength and Conditioning Association