Affiliations: [a] National & Kapodistrian University of Athens, Department of Physical Education & Sports Science, Athens, Greece | [b] Democritus University of Thrace, Department of Physical Education and Sports Science, Komotini, Greece
Abstract: It is unclear whether fatigue induced by a tennis training session influences the effectiveness of balance exercise training program. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to investigate whether a balance program is more effective when performed before or after the regular tennis training session. The study was conducted on 36 young tennis players participating in the national young tennis championship. The participants were randomly divided into three subject groups, one control group (C group), and two intervention groups that performed a specific balance program for 12 weeks, three times per week, 16 min per session. One intervention group performed the balance program immediately before the regular tennis training session (Pre training group) and the other group performed the same balance program immediately after tennis training (Post training group). Balance performance was assessed in all subjects at baseline (T0) and after the completion of the 12-week balance program (T12). The balance performance assessment was performed with two different balance boards and the Biodex Stability System. Two-way repeated measures ANOVA revealed that there was no difference (p > 0.05) in balance performance in the C group between T0 and T12. In contrast, there was significant improvement between T0 and T12 for Pre and Post training groups. Furthermore, there were significant differences between group C and the two intervention groups after the 12-week balance training program, while there was no significant difference between the Pre and Post training groups. In conclusion, there was significant improvement in balance performance with the balance training program and there was no effect of the time the tennis training sessions were performed.
