Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Physical Demands of Tennis Across the Different Court Surfaces, Performance Levels and Sexes: A Systematic Review with Meta-analysis

  • Systematic Review
  • Published:
Sports Medicine Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background

Tennis is a multidirectional high-intensity intermittent sport for male and female individuals played across multiple surfaces. Although several studies have attempted to characterise the physical demands of tennis, a meta-analysis is still lacking.

Objective

We aimed to describe and synthesise the physical demands of tennis across the different court surfaces, performance levels and sexes.

Methods

PubMed, Embase, CINAHL and SPORTDiscus were searched from inception to 19 April, 2022. A backward citation search was conducted for included articles using Scopus. The PECOS framework was used to formulate eligibility criteria. Population: tennis players of regional, national or international playing levels (juniors and adults). Exposure: singles match play. Comparison: sex (male/female), court surface (hard, clay, grass). Outcome: duration of play, on-court movement and stroke performance. Study design: cross-sectional, longitudinal. Pooled means or mean differences with 95% confidence intervals were calculated. A random-effects meta-analysis with robust variance estimation was performed. The measures of heterogeneity were Cochrane Q and 95% prediction intervals. Subgroup analysis was used for different court surfaces.

Results

The literature search generated 7736 references; 64 articles were included for qualitative and 42 for quantitative review. Mean [95% confidence interval] rally duration, strokes per rally and effective playing time on all surfaces were 5.5 s [4.9, 6.3], 4.1 [3.4, 5.0] and 18.6% [15.8, 21.7] for international male players and 6.4 s [5.4, 7.6], 3.9 [2.4, 6.2] and 20% [17.3, 23.3] for international female players. Mean running distances per point, set and match were 9.6 m [7.6, 12.2], 607 m [443, 832] and 2292 m [1767, 2973] (best-of-5) for international male players and 8.2 m [4.4, 15.2], 574 m [373, 883] and 1249 m [767, 2035] for international female players. Mean first- and second-serve speeds were 182 km·h−1 [178, 187] and 149 km·h−1 [135, 164] for international male players and 156 km·h−1 95% confidence interval [151, 161] and 134 km·h−1 [107, 168] for international female players.

Conclusions

The findings from this study provide a comprehensive summary of the physical demands of tennis. These results may guide tennis-specific training programmes. We recommend more consistent measuring and reporting of data to enable future meta-analysts to pool meaningful data.

Clinical Trial Registration

The protocol for this systematic review was registered a priori at the Open Science Framework (Registration DOI https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/MDWFY).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. International Tennis Federation (ITF). ITF global tennis report 2021. London: ITF; 2021. http://itf.uberflip.com/i/1401406-itf-global-tennis-report-2021/9? Accessed 21 Jun 2022.

  2. Nag U. Everything you need to know about tennis courts: IOC; 2022. https://olympics.com/en/featured-news/tennis-court-markings-dimensions-size-types-variety-surface-hard-grass-clay. Accessed 13 Jan 2023.

  3. Kovacs MS. Tennis physiology: training the competitive athlete. Sports Med. 2007;37(3):189–98.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Devine JW. Elements of excellence. J Philos Sport. 2022;1–17.

  5. Lambrich J, Muehlbauer T. Physical fitness and stroke performance in healthy tennis players with different competition levels: a systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS ONE. 2022;17(6): e0269516.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  6. Xiao W, Geok SK, Bai X, Bu T, Norjali Wazir MR, Talib O, et al. Effect of exercise training on physical fitness among young tennis players: a systematic review. Front Public Health. 2022;10: 843021.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  7. Reid M, Duffield R. The development of fatigue during match-play tennis. Br J Sports Med. 2014;48 Suppl. 1(Suppl. 1):i7–11.

  8. Barnett T, Alan B, Pollard G. Reducing the likelihood of long tennis matches. J Sports Sci Med. 2006;5(4):567–74.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  9. Lisi F, Grigoletto M. Modeling and simulating durations of men’s professional tennis matches by resampling match features. J Sports Analyt. 2021;7:57–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Haake SJ, Chadwick SG, Dignall RJ, Goodwill S, Rose P. Engineering tennis: slowing the game down. Sports Eng. 2000;3(2):131–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Baodong Y. Hawkeye technology using tennis match. Comput Model New Technol. 2014;18(12c):400–2.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Page MJ, Moher D, Bossuyt PM, Boutron I, Hoffmann TC, Mulrow CD, et al. PRISMA 2020 explanation and elaboration: updated guidance and exemplars for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ. 2021;372.

  13. Otten R, de Vries R, Schoonmade L. Amsterdam Efficient Deduplication (AED) method (Version 1). Amsterdam: Zenodo; 2019.

  14. Bramer WM, Giustini D, de Jonge GB, Holland L, Bekhuis T. De-duplication of database search results for systematic reviews in EndNote. J Med Libr Assoc. 2016;104(3):240–3.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  15. Ouzzani M, Hammady H, Fedorowicz Z, Elmagarmid A. Rayyan: a web and mobile app for systematic reviews. Syst Rev. 2016;5(1):1–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Hawk-Eye Innovations. Pioneering & inspiring change in sport 2022. https://www.hawkeyeinnovations.com/. Accessed 13 Jan 2023.

  17. JBI. Critical appraisal tools Adelaide: JBI Collaboration; 2022. https://jbi.global/critical-appraisal-tools. Accessed 13 Jan 2023.

  18. Tanner-Smith EE, Tipton E, Polanin JR. Handling complex meta-analytic data structures using robust variance estimates: a tutorial in R. J Dev Life-Course Criminol. 2016;2(1):85–112.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Fisher Z, Tipton E. robumeta: an R-package for robust variance estimation in meta-analysis. arXiv:150302220. 2015.

  20. DerSimonian R, Laird N. Meta-analysis in clinical trials. Control Clin Trials. 1986;7(3):177–88.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Harrer M, Cuijpers P, Furukawa TA, Ebert DD. Doing meta-analysis with R: a hands-on guide. New York: Chapman and Hall/CRC; 2021.

  22. Friedrich JO, Adhikari NK, Beyene J. The ratio of means method as an alternative to mean differences for analyzing continuous outcome variables in meta-analysis: a simulation study. BMC Med Res Methodol. 2008;8(1):1–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. IntHout J, Ioannidis JP, Rovers MM, Goeman JJ. Plea for routinely presenting prediction intervals in meta-analysis. BMJ Open. 2016;6(7): e010247.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  24. R Core Team. R: a language and environment for statistical computing. Vienna: R Foundation for Statistical Computing; 2020. https://www.r-project.org/. Accessed 13 Jan 2023.

  25. Viechtbauer W. Conducting meta-analyses in R with the metafor package. J Stat Softw. 2010;36(3):1–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Higgins JP, Thomas J, Chandler J, Cumpston M, Li T, Page MJ, et al. Cochrane handbook for systematic reviews of interventions. Chichester: Wiley; 2019.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  27. Bergeron MF, McLeod KS, Coyle JF. Core body temperature during competition in the heat: National Boys’ 14s Junior Championships. Br J Sports Med. 2007;41(11):779–83.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  28. Brown E, O’Donoghue P. Gender and surface effect on elite tennis strategy. ITF Coach Sport Science Rev. 2008;15(46):9–11.

    Google Scholar 

  29. Brown EG. A faster serve has more impact on success for female elite tennis players than males. Int J Perform Anal Sport. 2021;21(4):600–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Carboch J. Comparison of game characteristics of male and female tennis players at grand-slam tournaments in 2016. Trends Sport Sci. 2017;4(24):151–5.

    Google Scholar 

  31. Carboch J, Plachá K. Development of rally pace and other match characteristics in women’s matches in the Australian Open 2017. J Phys Educ Sport. 2018;18(2):1079–83.

    Google Scholar 

  32. Carboch J, Placha K, Sklenarik M. Rally pace and match characteristics of male and female tennis matches at the Australian Open 2017. J Hum Sport Exerc. 2018;13(4):743–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Carboch J, Siman J, Sklenarik M, Blau M. Match characteristics and rally pace of male tennis matches in three Grand Slam tournaments. Phys Activity Rev. 2019;7:49–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Carboch J, Blau M, Sklenarik M, Siman J, Placha K. Ball change in tennis: How does it affect match characteristics and rally pace in Grand Slam tournaments? J Hum Sports Exerc. 2020;15(1):153–62.

    Google Scholar 

  35. Cui Y, Gómez M-Á, Gonçalves B, Liu H, Sampaio J. Effects of experience and relative quality in tennis match performance during four Grand Slams. Int J Perform Anal Sport. 2017;17(5):783–801.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Cui Y, Gómez M, Gonçalves B, Sampaio J. Performance profiles of professional female tennis players in grand slams. PLoS ONE. 2018;13(7): e0200591.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  37. Cui Y, Zhao Y, Liu H, Gómez M, Wei R, Liu Y. Effect of a seeding system on competitive performance of elite players during major tennis tournaments. Front Psychol. 2020;11:1294.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  38. Cui Y, Liu H, Gómez M, Liu H, Gonçalves B. Set-to-set performance variation in tennis Grand Slams: play with consistency and risks. J Hum Kinet. 2020;73:153–63.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  39. Fernández-Elías V, Courel-Ibáñez J, Pérez-López A, Jodra P, Moreno-Pérez V, Coso JD, et al. Acute beetroot juice supplementation does not improve match-play activity in professional tennis players. J Am Nutr Assoc. 2022;41(1):30–7.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  40. Fernandez-Fernandez J, Mendez-Villanueva A, Fernandez-Garcia B, Terrados N. Match activity and physiological responses during a junior female singles tennis tournament. Br J Sports Med. 2007;41(11):711–6.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  41. Fernandez-Fernandez J, Sanz-Rivas D, Fernandez-Garcia B, Mendez-Villanueva A. Match activity and physiological load during a clay-court tennis tournament in elite female players. J Sports Sci. 2008;26(14):1589–95.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  42. Filipcic A, Zecic M, Reid M, Crespo M, Panjan A, Nejc S. Differences in performance indicators of elite tennis players in the period 1991–2010. J Phys Educ Sport. 2015;15(4):671–7.

    Google Scholar 

  43. Filipcic A, Leskosek B, Crespo M, Filipcic T. Matchplay characteristics and performance indicators of male junior and entry professional tennis players. Int J Sports Sci Coach. 2021;16(3):768–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. Fitzpatrick A, Stone JA, Choppin S, Kelley J. Important performance characteristics in elite clay and grass court tennis match-play. Int J Perform Anal Sport. 2019;19(6):942–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  45. Galé AC. Youths tennis players’ velocity and acceleration in match play. Revista Internacional de Deportes Colectivos. 2014;18:50–65.

    Google Scholar 

  46. Galé-Ansodi C, Castellano J, Usabiaga O. Effects of different surfaces in time-motion characteristics in youth elite tennis players. Int J Perform Anal Sport. 2016;16(3):860–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  47. Galé-Ansodi C, Castellano J, Usabiaga O. More acceleration and less speed to assess physical demands in female young tennis players. Int J Perform Anal Sport. 2017;17(6):872–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  48. Galé-Ansodi C, Castellano J, Usabiaga O. Physical profile of young tennis players in the tennis match-play using global positioning systems. J Phys Educ Sport. 2017;17(2):826–32.

    Google Scholar 

  49. Galé-Ansodi C, Castellano J, Usabiaga O. Differences between running activity in tennis training and match-play. Int J Perform Anal Sport. 2018;18(5):855–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  50. Gallo-Salazar C, Areces F, Abián-Vicén J, Lara B, Salinero JJ, Gonzalez-Millán C, et al. Enhancing physical performance in elite junior tennis players with a caffeinated energy drink. Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2015;10(3):305–10.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  51. Gallo-Salazar C, Del Coso J, Sanz-Rivas D, Fernandez-Fernandez J. Game activity and physiological responses of young tennis players in a competition with two consecutive matches in a day. Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2019;14(7):887–93.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  52. Giles B, Kovalchik S, Reid M. A machine learning approach for automatic detection and classification of changes of direction from player tracking data in professional tennis. J Sports Sci. 2020;38(1):106–13.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  53. Hoppe MW, Baumgart C, Bornefeld J, Sperlich B, Freiwald J, Holmberg HC. Running activity profile of adolescent tennis players during match play. Pediatr Exerc Sci. 2014;26(3):281–90.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  54. Hoppe MW, Baumgart C, Freiwald J. Do running activities of adolescent and adult tennis players differ during play? Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2016;11(6):793–801.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  55. Hornery DJ, Farrow D, Mujika I, Young W. An integrated physiological and performance profile of professional tennis. Br J Sports Med. 2007;41(8):531–6 (discussion 6).

  56. Johnson CD, McHugh MP. Performance demands of professional male tennis players. Br J Sports Med. 2006;40(8):696–9.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  57. Kilit B, Arslan E. Physiological responses and time-motion characteristics of young tennis players: comparison of serve vs. return games and winners vs. losers matches. Int J Perform Anal Sport. 2017;17(5):684–94.

  58. Kilit B, Arslan E. Playing tennis matches on clay court surfaces are associated with more perceived enjoyment response but less perceived exertion compared to hard courts. Acta Gymnica. 2018;48(4):147–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  59. SSRN. On the independence and identical distribution of points in tennis. 1998. https://ssrn.com/abstract=138096. Accessed 13 Apr 2022.

  60. Kovalchik SA, Reid M. Comparing matchplay characteristics and physical demands of junior and professional tennis athletes in the era of big data. J Sports Sci Med. 2017;16(4):489–97.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  61. Mackie D. The effects of gender on the work to rest ratio of elite level tennis players. Cardiff: Cardiff School of Sport; 2013.

  62. Maquirriain J, Baglione R, Cardey M. Male professional tennis players maintain constant serve speed and accuracy over long matches on grass courts. Eur J Sport Sci. 2016;16(7):845–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  63. McCarthy PR, Thorpe RDW, C. Body fluid loss during competitive tennis match-play. In: Lees A, Maynard J, Hughes MR, Reilly T, editors. Science and racket sports II. London: E & FN Spon; 1998. pp. 52–5.

  64. Meffert D, O’Shannessy C, Born P, Grambow R, Vogt T. Tennis at tiebreaks: addressing elite players’ performance for tomorrows’ coaching. German J Exerc Sport Res. 2019;49(3):339–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  65. Mendez-Villanueva A, Fernandez-Fernandez J, Bishop D, Fernandez-Garcia B, Terrados N. Activity patterns, blood lactate concentrations and ratings of perceived exertion during a professional singles tennis tournament. Br J Sports Med. 2007;41(5):296–300 (discussion).

  66. Morante SB, John. Match characteristics of professional singles tennis. J Med Sci Tennis. 2005;10(3):12–3.

  67. Moreno-Pérez V, López-Samanes Á, Domínguez R, Fernández-Elías VE, González-Frutos P, Fernández-Ruiz V, et al. Acute effects of a single tennis match on passive shoulder rotation range of motion, isometric strength and serve speed in professional tennis players. PLoS ONE. 2019;14(4): e0215015.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  68. Murphy AP, Duffield R, Kellett A, Reid M. A Comparison of the perceptual and technical demands of tennis training, simulated match play, and competitive tournaments. Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2016;11(1):40–7.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  69. Myers NL, Sciascia AD, Kibler WB, Uhl TL. Volume-based interval training program for elite tennis players. Sports Health. 2016;8(6):536–40.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  70. O'Donoghue P, Ingram B. A notational analysis of elite tennis strategy. J Sports Sci. 2001;19(2):107–15.

  71. O’Donoghue P, Liddle D. A notational analysis of time factors of elite men’s and ladies’singles tennis on clay and grass surfaces. In: Lees A, Maynard J, Hughes M, Reilly T, editors. Science and racket sports II. London: E & FN Spon; 1998. p. 241–6.

    Google Scholar 

  72. Pereira TJC, Nakamura FY, de Jesus MT, Vieira CL, Misuta MS, de Barros RM, et al. Analysis of the distances covered and technical actions performed by professional tennis players during official matches. J Sports Sci. 2017;35(4):361–8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  73. Pereira LA, Freitas V, Arruda Moura F, Saldanha Aoki M, Loturco I, Yuzo NF. The activity profile of young tennis athletes playing on clay and hard courts: preliminary data. J Hum Kinet. 2016;50:211–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  74. Perri T, Norton KI, Bellenger CR, Murphy AP. Training loads in typical junior-elite tennis training and competition: implications for transition periods in a high-performance pathway. Int J Perform Anal Sport. 2018;18(2):327–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  75. Ponzano M, Gollin M. Movement analysis and metabolic profile of tennis match play: comparison between hard courts and clay courts. Int J Perform Anal Sport. 2017;17(3):220–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  76. Reid M, Morgan S, Whiteside D. Matchplay characteristics of Grand Slam tennis: implications for training and conditioning. J Sports Sci. 2016;34(19):1791–8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  77. Reilly TP, J. Investigation of exercise intensity in male singles lawn tennis. In: Reilly T, Hughes ML, Lees A, editors. Science and racket sports. London: E & FN Spon; 1994. pp. 10–3.

  78. Sánchez-Pay A, Ortega-Soto JA, Sánchez-Alcaraz BJ. Notational analysis in female Grand Slam tennis competitions. Kinesiology. 2021;53(1):154–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  79. Smith MT, Reid M, Kovalchik S, Wood T, Duffield R. Heat stress incidence and matchplay characteristics in women’s Grand Slam tennis. J Sci Med Sport. 2018;21(7):666–70.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  80. Smith MT, Reid M, Kovalchik S, Woods TO, Duffield R. Heat stress incident prevalence and tennis matchplay performance at the Australian Open. J Sci Med Sport. 2018;21(5):467–72.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  81. Stare M, Žibrat U, Filipcic A. Stroke effectiveness in professional and junior tennis. Kinesiologia Slovenica. 2015;21(2):39–50.

    Google Scholar 

  82. Takahashi H, Wada T, Maeda A, Kodama M, Nishizono H, Kurata H. The relationship between court surface and tactics in tennis using a computerized scorebook. Int J Perform Anal Sport. 2006;6(2):15–25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  83. Takahashi H, Wada T, Maeda A, Kodama M, Nishizono H. An analysis of time factors in elite male tennis players using the computerised scorebook for tennis. Int J Perform Anal Sport. 2009;9(3):314–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  84. Torres-Luque G, Cabello-Manrique D, Hernández-García R, Garatachea N. An analysis of competition in young tennis players. Eur J Sport Sci. 2011;11(1):39–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  85. Yusoff SSB, Krasilshchikov O. Match and game performance variables in elite and junior men singles tennis players. Sport Mont. 2021;19:189–93.

  86. Whiteside D, Reid M. External match workloads during the first week of Australian Open tennis competition. Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2017;12(6):756–63.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  87. Whiteside D, Bane MK, Reid M, editors. Differentiating top-ranked male tennis players from lower-ranked players using Hawk-Eye data: an investigation of the 201R 2014 Australian Open tournaments. In: 33rd international society of biomechanics in sports conference; 29 June–3 July 2015; Poitiers, France.

  88. O’Donoghue P, Liddle D. A notational analysis of time factors of elite men’s and ladies’ singles tennis on clay and grass surfaces. In: Lees A, Mayard MH, M, Reilly T, editors. Science and racket sports II: E & FN Spon; 1998. pp. 241–6.

  89. ITF. Historic Davis Cup reforms approved at AGM London: ITF; 2018. https://www.daviscup.com/en/news/290057.aspx. Accessed 13 Jan 2023.

  90. Hrdlicka J, Moretton G, Hewitt I, McNulty M. Grand Slam Tournaments jointly announce 10-point final set tie-break at six games all: AELTC; 2022. https://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/news/articles/2022-03-16/grand_slam_tournaments_jointly_announce_10point_final_set_tiebreak_at_six_games_all.html. Accessed 13 Jan 2023.

  91. ATP. Rules and innovations Florida: ATP 2022. https://www.nextgenatpfinals.com/en/event/rules-and-innovations. Accessed 13 Jan 2023.

  92. Miller S. Modern tennis rackets, balls, and surfaces. Br J Sports Med. 2006;40(5):401–5.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  93. Doğan İ, Revan S, Arikan Ş. Analysis of tennis competitions on different court surfaces. Turk J Sport Exerc. 2021;23(1):60–6.

    Google Scholar 

  94. Kovalchik S, Reid M. A shot taxonomy in the era of tracking data in professional tennis. J Sports Sci. 2018;36(18):2096–104.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  95. Périard JD, Racinais S, Knez WL, Herrera CP, Christian RJ, Girard O. Thermal, physiological and perceptual strain mediate alterations in match-play tennis under heat stress. Br J Sports Med. 2014;48(Suppl. 1):i32–8.

  96. Prieto-Lage I, Paramés-González A, Argibay-González JC, Reguera-López-de-la-Osa X, Ordóñez-Álvarez S, Gutiérrez-Santiago A. Match analysis in women's tennis on clay, grass and hard courts. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19(13):7955.

  97. Martin C, Thevenet D, Zouhal H, Mornet Y, Delès R, Crestel T, et al. Effects of playing surface (hard and clay courts) on heart rate and blood lactate during tennis matches played by high-level players. J Strength Cond Res. 2011;25(1):163–70.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  98. Fitzpatrick A, Stone JA, Choppin S, Kelley J. Investigating the most important aspect of elite grass court tennis: short points. Int J Sports Sc Coach. 2021;16(5):1178–86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  99. Rudzki K. ITF introduces three types of balls to counter power game. Independent. 2001. https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/tennis/itf-introduces-three-types-of-balls-to-counter-power-game-9206610.html. Accessed 21 June 2022.

  100. Brown E. Gender and surface effects on elite tennis strategy. ITF Coach Sport Sci Rev. 2007;15(46):9–11.

    Google Scholar 

  101. Hizan H, Whipp P, Reid M. Comparison of serve and serve return statistics of high performance male and female tennis players from different age-groups. Int J Perform Anal Sport. 2011;11(2):365–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  102. Vickery WM, Dascombe BJ, Baker JD, Higham DG, Spratford WA, Duffield R. Accuracy and reliability of GPS devices for measurement of sports-specific movement patterns related to cricket, tennis, and field-based team sports. J Strength Cond Res. 2014;28(6):1697–705.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  103. Giles B, Peeling P, Dawson B, Reid M. How do professional tennis players move? The perceptions of coaches and strength and conditioning experts. J Sports Sci. 2019;37(7):726–34.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  104. Kolman NS, Kramer T, Elferink-Gemser MT, Huijgen BCH, Visscher C. Technical and tactical skills related to performance levels in tennis: a systematic review. J Sports Sci. 2019;37(1):108–21.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  105. Martínez-Gallego R, J FG, James N, Pers J, Ramón-Llin J, Vuckovic G. Movement characteristics of elite tennis players on hard courts with respect to the direction of ground strokes. J Sports Sci Med. 2013;12(2):275–81.

  106. ITF. ITF 2018 Rules of tennis London: ITF Ltd; 2018. http://itf.uberflip.com/i/920624-2018-rules-of-tennis/15?%29. Accessed 15 Mar 2022.

  107. WTA. Women's Tennis Association 2018 Official Rulebook. USA: WTA Tour, Inc; 2018. http://wtafiles.wtatennis.com/pdf/publications/2018WTARulebook.pdf. Accessed 13 Jan 2023.

  108. ATP. The 2018 ATP official rulebook. USA: ATP Tour; 2018.

  109. Kolbinger O, Großmann S, Lames M. A closer look at the prevalence of time rule violations and the inter-point time in men’s Grand Slam tennis. J Sports Analytics. 2019;5:75–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  110. Mühlberger A, Kolbinger O. The serve clock reduced rule violations, but did not speed up the game: a closer look at the inter-point time at the 2018 US Open. J Hum Sport Exerc. 2021;16(3):528–40.

    Google Scholar 

  111. ITF WorldTennisTour. 2019 Men's & Women's ITF World Tennis Tour Regulations. London: ITF Ltd; 2019. https://aut.uy/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2019-ITF-Mens-Womens-Regulations.pdf. Accessed 13 Jan 2023.

  112. WTA. 2019 WTA Official Rulebook. USA: WTA; 2019. http://wtafiles.wtatennis.com/pdf/publications/2019WTARulebook.pdf. Accessed 13 Jan 2023.

  113. WTA. WTA Tour 2022 Official Rulebook. USA: WTA; 2022. https://photoresources.wtatennis.com/wta/document/2022/01/26/125189f7-fe9f-4aaf-8ff4-88973e54bd9a/2022-WTA-Rulebook-1-26-2022-.pdf. Accessed 13 Jan 2023.

  114. Brosnan RJ, Watson G, Stuart W, Twentyman C, Kitic CM, Schmidt M. The validity, reliability, and agreement of global positioning system units-can we compare research and applied data? J Strength Cond Res. 2021;36(12):3330–8.

  115. Mecheri S, Rioult F, Mantel B, Kauffmann F, Benguigui N. The serve impact in tennis: first large-scale study of big Hawk-Eye data. Statistical analysis and data mining. ASA Data Sci J. 2016;9(5):310–25.

  116. Reilly T, Morris T, Whyte G. The specificity of training prescription and physiological assessment: a review. J Sports Sci. 2009;27(6):575–89.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  117. Hughes DC, Ellefsen S, Baar K. Adaptations to endurance and strength training. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med. 2018;8(6):a029769.

  118. Goossens RD, Kempeneers J, Koning HR, Spieksma FCR. Winning in straight sets helps in Grand Slam tennis. Int J Perform Anal Sport. 2015;15(3):1007–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The author group would like to thank Matthew Lester for his contribution to the screening.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Section Sports Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa

    Babette M. Pluim & Dina C. Janse van Rensburg

  2. Amsterdam Collaboration on Health and Safety in Sports (ACHSS), IOC Research Center of Excellence, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Babette M. Pluim

  3. Medical Department, Royal Netherlands Lawn Tennis Association (KNLTB), Amstelveen, The Netherlands

    Babette M. Pluim

  4. Toptennis Department, Royal Netherlands Lawn Tennis Association (KNLTB), Amstelveen, The Netherlands

    Marleen G. T. Jansen & Miriam van Reijen

  5. Centre for Human Movement Sciences, University Medical Centre Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

    Marleen G. T. Jansen

  6. English Institute of Sport, London, UK

    Samuel Williamson

  7. Lawn Tennis Association, London, UK

    Cain Berry

  8. Department of Political Science, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    Silvia Camporesi

  9. Rehabilitation Medicine Research Group, Department of Health Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden

    Kristina Fagher

  10. Centre for Public Health, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland

    Neil Heron

  11. School of Medicine, Keele University, Staffordshire, UK

    Neil Heron

  12. Medical Committee, World Netball, Manchester, UK

    Dina C. Janse van Rensburg

  13. Center for Translational Research in Physiotherapy, Department of Pathology and Surgery, Miguel Hernández University of Elche, San Joan, Spain

    Víctor Moreno-Pérez

  14. Sport and Exercise, University of Edinburgh. Pleasance, Edinburgh, UK

    Andrew Murray

  15. European Tour Health and Performance Institute, European Tour Golf, Virginia Water, UK

    Andrew Murray

  16. School of Psychology, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, UK

    Seán R. O’Connor

  17. Research Unit in Sport and Physical Activity (CIDAF), Faculty of Sport Sciences and Physical Education, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal

    Fábio C. L. de Oliveira

  18. Tennis Australia, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Machar Reid

  19. National Olympic Committee TeamNL, Arnhem, The Netherlands

    Miriam van Reijen

  20. Physio Meets Science GmbH, Leimen, Germany

    Tobias Saueressig

  21. University Library, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Linda J. Schoonmade

  22. Return to Health and Performance Lab, Western Centre for Public Health and Family Medicine, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, ON, Canada

    Jane S. Thornton

  23. Fowler Kennedy Sport Medicine Clinic, Western University, London, ON, Canada

    Jane S. Thornton

  24. IPC Medical Committee, Bonn, Germany

    Nick Webborn

  25. Centre for Sport and Exercise Science and Medicine (SESAME), School of Sport and Service Management, University of Brighton, Brighton, UK

    Nick Webborn

  26. School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK

    Nick Webborn

  27. Department of Family Practice, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Clare L. Ardern

  28. Sport and Exercise Medicine Research Centre, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Clare L. Ardern

  29. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Medicine, Amsterdam UMC location University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Babette M. Pluim

  30. Academic Center for Evidence-based Sports Medicine, ACES, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Babette M. Pluim

Authors
  1. Babette M. Pluim
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Marleen G. T. Jansen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Samuel Williamson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Cain Berry
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Silvia Camporesi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Kristina Fagher
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Neil Heron
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Dina C. Janse van Rensburg
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Víctor Moreno-Pérez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. Andrew Murray
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  11. Seán R. O’Connor
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  12. Fábio C. L. de Oliveira
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  13. Machar Reid
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  14. Miriam van Reijen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  15. Tobias Saueressig
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  16. Linda J. Schoonmade
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  17. Jane S. Thornton
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  18. Nick Webborn
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  19. Clare L. Ardern
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Babette M. Pluim.

Ethics declarations

Funding

Tobias Saueressig received funding from the Royal Netherlands Lawn Tennis Association for the statistical analysis. The other authors received no financial support for the research, authorship and publication of this article.

Conflicts of interest

BMP, MGTJ and MvR are employed by the Royal Netherlands Lawn Tennis Association. BMP is Medical and Research Consultant for the ITF and Medical Consultant for the ATP Tour. CB is employed by the Lawn Tennis Association. SW, SC, KF, NH, DCJvR, VMP, AM, SRO, FCLO, MR, TS, LJS, JST, NW and CLA have no conflicts of interest that are directly relevant to the content of this article.

Ethics approval

Not applicable.

Consent to participate

Not applicable.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Availability of data and material

All data generated or analysed during this study are included in this published article and its supplementary information files.

Code availability

Not applicable.

Authors’ contributions

BMP had the idea for the study. LJS conducted the literature search. TS performed the data analysis. BMP, MGTJ, SW, DCJvR, JST and CLA prepared the original draft. All authors critically commented on previous versions of the manuscript and read and approved the final manuscript.

Supplementary Information

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Pluim, B.M., Jansen, M.G.T., Williamson, S. et al. Physical Demands of Tennis Across the Different Court Surfaces, Performance Levels and Sexes: A Systematic Review with Meta-analysis. Sports Med 53, 807–836 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-022-01807-8

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-022-01807-8

Search

Navigation