Performance Profiles of Nationally Ranked Junior Tennis Players

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between performance ability in junior tennis players, tennis stroke ratings and United States Tennis Association (USTA) rankings. A performance test battery evaluating strength, agility, speed and endurance was completed by 83 ranked male junior tennis players between the ages of 8 and 12. Ratings and videotape analysis of actual match play, along with USTA rankings, were quantified for tennis skill evaluation. Both sectional and national rankings were significantly related to tennis stroke ratings but higher correlations emerged between tennis stroke ratings and national rankings (r's from 0.57 to 0.68). Regression analysis indicated that 47 percent of the shared variance in national ranking was explained by the forehand tennis stroke rating. The results of this study appear to suggest that agility is the only physical performance variable used to predict competitive rankings in younger male tennis players (age 11.62 ± 0.62 yr.). No other physical performance measures were related to the level of tennis rankings. Conversely, tennis-specific skills as measured by tennis stroke ratings may be very good indicators of competitive tennis rankings in this age group. In young prepubescent and pubescent male tennis players, physical maturation may differentiate between tennis skills and ability.