ABSTRACT
Increased professionalism in tennis has stimulated scientific research into the principles of the game. While this research has resulted in considerable refinement of biomechanical principles associated with stroke production, the metabolic demands of singles tennis are still poorly defined. Fox (1979) estimated that approximately 70% of energy production in a singles tennis player was derived from anaerobic metabolism, whereas Seliger et al. (1973) suggested that aerobic sources provide 88% of the total energy demand. This contradiction may relate to the use of indirect methods (heart rate; work : recovery ratio) to establish the intensity of exercise and thereby predict the metabolic demands of singles tennis. In a more direct approach, changes in plasma concentrations of lactate, glucose and serum electrolytes were measured by Copley (1984) and changes in plasma concentrations of lactate, glucose, cortisol and testosterone were measured by Bergeron et al. (1991) during singles tennis. Both reports indicated little effect of play on either blood glucose or blood lactate. However, a major limitation to these studies was the requirement of relatively large blood samples (5 ml) for the metabolite assays and therefore, disruption to standard match-play conditions.
