Abstract

This mixed longitudinal prospective study observed the stability of physical and physiological factors in discriminating tennis performance through adolescence. High performance young players (TA) were compared at three age classifications (11 years, 13 years, 15 years) with competitive young players (TB) and a control population matched with the two tennis groups at the 11 years age classification for height and body mass. A series of two-factor analyses of variance was used to contrast the three groups at the three age classifications. Where a significant F-ratio (p < 0.05) for the performance main effect was recorded a Scheffe post-hoc comparison was used to identify which groups were different. Time for an agility run significantly differentiated the male TA players from the other two groups, while grip strength, speed and height for the vertical jump significantly differentiated female TA members from the other two female groups. Verf.-Referat