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SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article

Front. Sports Act. Living
Sec. Sports Science, Technology and Engineering
Volume 6 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fspor.2024.1406846
This article is part of the Research Topic Tennis: Bridging Tradition and Progress - An In-depth Analysis of the Sport’s Evolution and Its Prospect for the Future View all articles

Determining the tactical and technical level of competitive tennis players using a competency model: a systematic review

Provisionally accepted
Miguel Crespo Miguel Crespo 1Rafael Martínez-Gallego Rafael Martínez-Gallego 2*Ales Filipcic Ales Filipcic 3
  • 1 International Tennis Federation (ITF), London, United Kingdom
  • 2 Department of Physical and Sports Education, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain
  • 3 Faculty of Sports, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The aim of this systematic review is to provide an evidence-based synthesis of the literature on the topic of technical and tactical competencies of tennis players and to answer the following research questions: (1) What is the state of the art of research on technical and tactical competencies (i.e. skills and knowledge) and tennis; (2) What are the most important topics related to technical and tactical competencies in tennis players.Methods: Electronic searches were conducted in Web of Science, PubMED and SPORTDiscus (August to September 2023). This systematic review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. To reduce risk, all published literature was searched and primary studies were included.The search terms included skills or competencies, match or play, player and tennis and excluded studies on non-competitive tennis players -notation analysis, AI method, systematic review and validation of tools. Results and discussion: Of the 390 publications found in these searches, 13 articles were considered relevant and included in this study. They were divided into three categories: (1) technical-tactical skills, (2) match situations and (3) match performance. There was clear evidence that there is a test instrument for analyzing tactical-technical skills that has sufficient reliability and validity and is of practical value to tennis coaches. The development of tactical-technical skills is influenced by method (variability between/within skills), conditions (court size, ball type) and areas of development (situational awareness, anticipation, decision making). There are differences in match and stroke performance between different quality groups (professionals, juniors), which can also be influenced by mental strength. For a comprehensive study of tennis players' abilities, the use of modern technologies is possible and necessary in the future. Future research should focus on the creation of competency models for the playing level of tennis players, which could include at least three key elements: (1) key competencies, (2) description of standards, (3) evidence.

    Keywords: Tennis, Skills, knowledge, Game situations, Match performance, analysis

    Received: 25 Mar 2024; Accepted: 01 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Crespo, Martínez-Gallego and Filipcic. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Rafael Martínez-Gallego, Department of Physical and Sports Education, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, University of Valencia, Valencia, 46010, Spain

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