Modelling the relationship between relative load and match outcome in junior tennis players
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14198/jhse.2022.174.03Keywords:
Match performance, ACWR, Load monitoringAbstract
The acute:chronic workload ratio (ACWR) is a metric that can be used to monitor training loads during sport. Over the last decade researchers have investigated how this metric relates to injury, yet little consideration has been given to how this metric interacts with performance. Two prospective longitudinal studies were implemented investigating internal and external ACWRs and match outcome in junior tennis players. Forty-two and 24 players were recruited to participate in the internal and external load studies, respectively. Internal load was measured using session rate of perceive exertion, while external load was defined as total swing counts. The main dependent variable was tennis match performance which was extracted from the universal tennis rating website. The ACWR for internal and external load were the primary independent variables. Acute load was defined as the total load for one week, while a 4-week rolling average represented chronic load. There were no significant associations between internal (p-value = .23) or external (p-value = .81) ACWR and tennis match performance as assessed by multivariate regressions. The ACWRs in these datasets were close to 1.00, thus a balanced training load was undertaken by these athletes upon entering match play but was not related to match success.
Downloads
References
Aughey, R. J., Elias, G. P., Esmaeili, A., Lazarus, B., & Stewart, A. M. (2016). Does the recent internal load and strain on players affect match outcome in elite Australian football? Journal of Science & Medicine in Sport, 19(2), 182-186. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2015.02.005
Banister, E. W., & Calvert, T. W. (1980). Planning for future performance: implications for long term training. Canadian journal of applied sport sciences, 5(3), 170-176.
Blanch, P., & Gabbett, T. J. (2016). Has the athlete trained enough to return to play safely? The acute: chronic workload ratio permits clinicians to quantify a player's risk of subsequent injury. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 50(8), 471-475. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2015-095445
Bourdon, P. C., Cardinale, M., Murray, A., Gastin, P., Kellmann, M., Varley, M. C., Gabbett, T. J., Coutts, A. J., Burgess, D. J., Gregson, W., & Cable, N. T. (2017). Monitoring athlete training loads: Consensus statement. International Journal of Sports Physiology & Performance, 12, S2-161-S162-170. https://doi.org/10.1123/ijspp.2017-0208
Bowen, L., Gross, A. S., Gimpel, M., & Li, F.-X. (2017). Accumulated workloads and the acute: chronic workload ratio relate to injury risk in elite youth football players. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 51, 452-459. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2015-095820
Brink, M. S., Nederhof, E., Visscher, C., Lemmink, K. A. P. M., & Schmikli, S. L. (2010). Monitoring load, recovery, and performance in young elite soccer players. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 24(3), 597-603. https://doi.org/10.1519/jsc.0b013e3181c4d38b
Calvert, T. W., Banister, E. W., Savage, M. V., & Bach, T. (1976). A systems model of the effects of training on physical performance. IEEE Transactions on systems, man, and cybernetics(2), 94-102. https://doi.org/10.1109/tsmc.1976.5409179
Colby, M. J., Dawson, B., Peeling, P., Heasman, J., Rogalski, B., Drew, M. K., Stares, J., Zouhal, H., & Lester, L. (2017). Multivariate modelling of subjective and objective monitoring data improve the detection of non-contact injury risk in elite Australian footballers. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 20(12), 1068-1074. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2017.05.010
Collette, R., Pfeiffer, M., Kellmann, M., Ferrauti, A., & Meyer, T. (2018). Relation between training load and recovery-stress state in high-performance swimming. Frontiers in Physiology, 9(7). https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2018.00845
Coutts, A. J., Gomes, R. V., Viveiros, L., & Aoki, M. S. (2010). Monitoring training loads in elite tennis. Revista Brasileira de Cineantropometria e Desempenho Humano, 12(3), 217-220. https://doi.org/10.5007/1980-0037.2010v12n3p217
Duffield, R., Reid, M., Baker, J., & Spratford, W. (2010). Accuracy and reliability of GPS devices for measurement of movement patterns in confined spaces for court-based sports. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 13(5), 523-525. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2009.07.003
El-Masri, M. M., & Fox-Wasylyshyn, S. M. (2005). Missing data: An introductory conceptual overview for the novice researcher. Canadian Journal of Nursing Research, 37(4), 156-171.
Fernandez-Fernandez, J., Sanz-Rivas, D., & Mendez-Villanueva, A. (2009). A review of the activity profile and physiological demands of tennis match play. Strength and Conditioning Journal, 31(4), 15-26. https://doi.org/10.1519/ssc.0b013e3181ada1cb
Fett, J., Ulbricht, A., Wiewelhove, T., & Ferrauti, A. (2017). Athletic performance, training characteristics, and orthopedic indications in junior tennis Davis Cup players. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 12(1), 119-129. https://doi.org/10.31236/osf.io/2nue7
Foster, C., Daniels, J. T., & Yarbrough, R. A. (1977). Physiological and training correlates of marathon running performance. Australian Journal of Sports Medicine, 9(3), 58-61.
Foster, C., Florhaug, J. A., Franklin, J., Gottschall, L., Hrovatin, L. A., Parker, S., Doleshal, P., & Dodge, C. (2001). A new approach to monitoring exercise training. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 15(1), 109-115.
Gabbett, T. J. (2016). The training-injury prevention paradox: should athletes be training smarter and harder? British Journal of Sports Medicine, 50(5), 273-280. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2015-095788
Hulin, B. T., Gabbett, T. J., Blanch, P., Chapman, P., Bailey, D., & Orchard, J. W. (2014). Spikes in acute workload are associated with increased injury risk in elite cricket fast bowlers. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 48(8), 708-712. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2013-092524
Hulin, B. T., Gabbett, T. J., Lawson, D. W., Caputi, P., & Sampson, J. A. (2016). The acute: chronic workload ratio predicts injury: high chronic workload may decrease injury risk in elite rugby league players. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 50(4), 231-236. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2015-094817
Kang, M., Rowe, D. A., Barreira, T. V., Robinson, T. S., & Mahar, M. T. (2009). Individual information-centered approach for handling physical activity missing data. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 80(2), 131-137. https://doi.org/10.1080/02701367.2009.10599546
Kolman, N. S., Kramer, T., Elferink-Gemser, M. T., Huijgen, B. C. H., & Visscher, C. (2019). Technical and tactical skills related to performance levels in tennis: A systematic review. Journal of Sport Sciences, 37(1), 108-121. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2018.1483699
Kovacs, M. S. (2007). Tennis physiology: Training the competitive athlete. Sports Medicine(37), 189–198. https://doi.org/10.2165/00007256-200737030-00001
Kramer, T., Huijgen, B. C. H., Elferink-Gemser, M. T., & Visscher, C. (2017). Prediction of tennis performance in junior elite tennis players. Journal of Sports Science and Medicine, 16(1), 14-21.
Malone, S., Owen, A., Newton, M., Mendes, B., Collins, K. D., & Gabbett, T. J. (2017). The acute:chonic workload ratio in relation to injury risk in professional soccer. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 20(6), 561-565. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2016.10.014
McLaren, S., Smith, A., Spears, I., & Weston, M. (2017). A detailed quantification of differential ratings of perceived exertion during team-sport training. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 20, 290-295. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2016.06.011
Mendez-Villanueva, A., Fernandez-Fernandez, J., Bishop, D., Fernandez-Garcia, B., & Terrados, N. (2007). Activity patterns, blood lactate concentrations and ratings of perceived exertion during a professional singles tennis tournament. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 41(5), 296--300. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsm.2006.030536
Myers, N. L., Aguilar, K. V., Mexicano, G., Farnsworth, J. L., Knudson, D., & Kibler, W. B. (2020). The Acute: Chronic Workload Ratio Is Associated with Injury in Junior Tennis Players. Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 52(5), 1196-1200. https://doi.org/10.1249/mss.0000000000002215
Myers, N. L., Farnsworth, J. L., & Knudson, D. V. (2020). Different external workload models and the association with injury in competitive junior tennis players. Unpublished manuscript.
Myers, N. L., Kibler, W. B., Axtell, A. H., & Uhl, T. L. (2019). The Sony Smart Tennis Sensor accurately measures external workload in junior tennis players. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 14(1), 24-31. https://doi.org/10.1177/1747954118805278
Oracle. (2018). How UTR Works. Retrieved n.d. from https://www.myutr.com/
Reid, M., & Morris, C. (2013). Ranking benchmarks of top 100 players in men's professional tennis. European Journal of Sport Science, 13(4), 350-355. https://doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2011.608812
Reid, M., Quinlan, G., Kearney, S., & Jones, D. (2009). Planning and periodization for the elite junior tennis player. Strength and Conditioning Journal, 31(4), 69-76. https://doi.org/10.1519/ssc.0b013e3181afc98d
Salonikidis, K., & Zafeiridis, A. (2008). The effects of plyometric, tennis-drills, and combined training on reaction, lateral and linear speed, power, and strength in novice tennis players. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 22(1), 182-191. https://doi.org/10.1519/jsc.0b013e31815f57ad
Soligard, T., Schwellnus, M., Alonso, J.-M., Bahr, R., Clarsen, B., Dijkstra, H. P., Gabbett, T., Gleeson, M., Hagglund, M., Hutchinson, M. R., van Rensburg, C. J., Khan, K. M., Meeusen, R., Orchard, J. W., Pluim, B. M., Raftery, M., Budgett, R., & Engebretsen, L. (2016). How much is too much? (Part 1) International Olympic Committee consensus statement on load in sport and risk of injury. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 50, 1030-1041. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2016-096581
Timoteo, T. F., Debien, P. B., Miloski, B., Werneck, F. Z., Gabbett, T., & Bara Filho, M. G. (2018). Influence of workload and recovery on injuries in elite male volleyball players. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. https://doi.org/10.1519/jsc.0000000000002754
Vickery, W. M., Dascombe, B. J., Baker, J. D., Spratford, W. A., Higham, D. G., & Duffield, R. (2014). Accuracy and reliability of GPS devices for measurement of sports-specific movement patterns related to cricket, tennis, and field-based team sports. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 28(6), 1697-1705. https://doi.org/10.1519/jsc.0000000000000285
Wallace, L., Coutts, A., Bell, J., Simpson, N., & Slattery, K. (2008). Using session-RPE to monitor training load in swimmers. Strength and Conditioning Journal, 30(6), 72-76. https://doi.org/10.1519/ssc.0b013e31818eed5f
Warren, A., Williams, S., McCaig, S., & Trewartha, G. (2018). High acute:chronic workloads are associated with injury in England & Wales Cricket Board Development Programme fast bowlers. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 21(1), 40-45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2017.07.009
Windt, J., & Gabbett, T. J. (2018). Is it all for naught? What does mathematical coupling mean for acute:chronic workload ratios? British Journal of Sports Medicine, 53, 988-990. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2017-098925
Downloads
Statistics
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2018 Journal of Human Sport and Exercise

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Each author warrants that his or her submission to the Work is original and that he or she has full power to enter into this agreement. Neither this Work nor a similar work has been published elsewhere in any language nor shall be submitted for publication elsewhere while under consideration by JHSE. Each author also accepts that the JHSE will not be held legally responsible for any claims of compensation.
Authors wishing to include figures or text passages that have already been published elsewhere are required to obtain permission from the copyright holder(s) and to include evidence that such permission has been granted when submitting their papers. Any material received without such evidence will be assumed to originate from the authors.
Please include at the end of the acknowledgements a declaration that the experiments comply with the current laws of the country in which they were performed. The editors reserve the right to reject manuscripts that do not comply with the abovementioned requirements. The author(s) will be held responsible for false statements or failure to fulfill the above-mentioned requirements.
This title is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).
You are free to share, copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format. The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms under the following terms:
Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
NoDerivatives — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material.
No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
Notices:
You do not have to comply with the license for elements of the material in the public domain or where your use is permitted by an applicable exception or limitation.
No warranties are given. The license may not give you all of the permissions necessary for your intended use. For example, other rights such as publicity, privacy, or moral rights may limit how you use the material.
Transfer of Copyright
In consideration of JHSE’s publication of the Work, the authors hereby transfer, assign, and otherwise convey all copyright ownership worldwide, in all languages, and in all forms of media now or hereafter known, including electronic media such as CD-ROM, Internet, and Intranet, to JHSE. If JHSE should decide for any reason not to publish an author’s submission to the Work, JHSE shall give prompt notice of its decision to the corresponding author, this agreement shall terminate, and neither the author nor JHSE shall be under any further liability or obligation.
Each author certifies that he or she has no commercial associations (e.g., consultancies, stock ownership, equity interest, patent/licensing arrangements, etc.) that might pose a conflict of interest in connection with the submitted article, except as disclosed on a separate attachment. All funding sources supporting the Work and all institutional or corporate affiliations of the authors are acknowledged in a footnote in the Work.
Each author certifies that his or her institution has approved the protocol for any investigation involving humans or animals and that all experimentation was conducted in conformity with ethical and humane principles of research.
Competing Interests
Biomedical journals typically require authors and reviewers to declare if they have any competing interests with regard to their research.
JHSE require authors to agree to Copyright Notice as part of the submission process.