Guided Article Critique: Stretching Assignment 2
The article “Effects of different stretching methods on speed and agility performance in
young tennis players” (Kilit et al, 2019), looks at the acute effects that different stretching
methods can pose on speed and agility performance in relation to young tennis players. This is an
important aspect of an athletes routine to focus on how to properly train them to have the greatest
success in training and matches. Not only will a study like this help to let an athlete know which
stretching will show the greatest effect, it can also be used for trainers in the future.
The sport of tennis requires its players to be able to participate in short but high-intensity
exercises and also low-effort activities for about 2-4 hours at a time. This is considered an
anaerobic activity, as its a higher intensity without many aerobic rest in between for the athletes.
Because of this, the athletes must be able to exhibit certain physiological traits that are more
specific to their sport, for this it would be strength and flexibility. Like all other sports, a tennis
player must prepare properly for each match, in forms of stretching and conditioning. Stretching
can be done in a few different ways such as: static, dynamic, and a combination of both types can
be performed. Static stretching has been observed in many sports in many different durations
before an athletic performance, which is used to enhance performance in many athletes.
However, this type of stretching could have a negative effect on the athletes performance, as it
has been shown to decrease the stretch and speed of some individuals. Oppose from the results in
this study, it has been shown that dynamic stretching has been effective with speed and flexibility
required in sports. In some studies however, comparing the effects of stretches on performance
when combined with speed and agility that results can be unclear as the athletes could been in a
different sport, or age group. There aren't studies that focus on specifically agility and sprint
performance in terms of tennis players. Because of this, the purpose of this study was to compare
Guided Article Critique: Stretching Assignment 3
the acute effects in terms of different stretching methods in relating to speed, agility and
acceleration in young tennis players.
There were twenty six male athletes who are nationally ranked who volunteered to
participate in this study. The study was conducted while all the athletes were not involved in any
other training or matches. Along with that, each player didn't experience any injuries within the 6
months prior, participating at least 4 to 5 times a week with each session lasting approximately
80 minutes, and at least 2 years of training experience overall. The athletes were broken into two
different groups for the study, these groups were good performers (GP), and moderate performers
(MP). Each athlete was explained the testing breakdown of the testing process, and the study was
approved by the research committee at the university.
This study consisted of 11 events with the data being collected over a course of a year
that were broken down into short procedures that include static stretching, dynamic stretching,
static + dynamic, dynamic + static and control. Testing order was random with a 48 hour rest
interval in between tests, these consisted of an “8 minute warm up, 3 minute rest, 30 seconds of
stretching, 2 minute test, agility test, and a 20 meter sprint” (Kilit et al, 2018). After the tests
were conducted, and data was collected the research team was able to determine the results of the
study.
In determining the results, it is shown that there was significant difference within the
groups in terms of 10-m acceleration, t-drill, and 20-m sprint (P = 0.001; 2 = 0.65 for 10-m, 2 =
0.69 for 20-m and 2 = 0.77 for agility), also significant differences found in 10-m acceleration,
20-m sprint and T-drill agility time among CSD, SS and CDS (P = 0.001; 2 = 0.57 for 10-m, 2 =
0.60 for 20-m and 2 = 0.67 for agility), but no significant differences found between DS and
Guided Article Critique: Stretching Assignment 4
CSD (Kilit et al, 2018). Overall, the good performance group did demonstrate a better
performance in the test combined.
In conclusion, the main purpose of this study was to compare the effects of different
stretching techniques on athletic performance. After other research, this seems to be the only
study that considers this and tests to find the acute effects of stretching. The main finding here
shows there is a negative impact of static stretching in relation to agility and speed when at work.
Also, the study showed that fitness level plays a giant part in the effects that stretching will have
on agility and speed. This research is consistent with most other studies that show dynamic or
combined stretching does show improvements overtime in performance. Some findings within
other studies can show differently based on many factors within the study, these could include;
different sports, training status, different time, and even change in sets of stretching. Within this,
improved speed and agility could also be explained as increase in muscle blood flow. Overall,
dynamic stretching has shown a greater average in terms of speed and agility than static
stretching did.
Overall, this was a strong study that offered a unique testing sessions, that ended up
showing a significant difference between the stretching. The testing done offered a vanity of skill
set that would be needed within the sport, and a proper resting period between test. Hoever, the
particaptns could of been a wider range of indiduals to get a better understand of effect in terms
of age and skill level. Along with that, having a greater range that help give the younger
inducaisl ways to improve overtime and help their tennis career overall. Unfortunately, looking
at the information there isnt much out there to compare this study to and gain a greater
knowledge from them. As mentioned throught the study, this one seemed to be the only one that
looked into different stretching methods on tennis.
Guided Article Critique: Stretching Assignment 5
References
Gelen, E., Dede, M., Bingul, B. M., Bulgan, C., & Aydin, M. (2012). Acute effects of static
stretching, dynamic exercises, and high volume upper extremity plyometric activity on
tennis serve performance. Journal of sports science & medicine,11(4), 600–605.
Kilit, B., Arslon, E., & Soylu, Y. (2018, December 15). Effects of different stretching methods on
speed and agility performance in young tennis players. Science & Sports.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0765159718303447?via%3Dihub
Turna, Bülent & Sahan, Asuman & Yılmaz, Bahar. (2019). The Acute Effects of Dynamic and
Static Stretching on Tennis Serve Targeting Performance. Turkish Journal of Sport and
Exercise. 21. 403-410. 10.15314/tsed.644000.
Xiao, W., Geok, S. K., Bai, X., Bu, T., Norjali Wazir, M. R., Talib, O., Liu, W., & Zhan, C.
(2022). Effect of Exercise Training on Physical Fitness Among Young Tennis Players: A
Systematic Review. Frontiers in public health,10, 843021.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.843021
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