Cardiovascular, metabolic, and hormonal parameters in professional tennis players

During the past decade, the physical and mental stress in professional tenn is has been constantly increasing. The overall intensity in tennis ranges b etween 60 and 70% of maximum oxygen uptake and the energy requirements are mainly provided by aerobic energy metabolism. Therefore, particularly with respect to the duration of the tournaments and the length of the matches, a good aerobic capacity promotes continuous success in professional tennis. During frequent periods of high intensity, however, muscular energy is deri ved from anaerobic glycolysis. Therefore, sports-specific conditioning prog rams in tennis should improve both glycolytic and oxidative muscular metabo lism. Years of training and competition induce a number of cardiovascular a nd metabolic adaptations: an increase in heart size in terms of an athlete' s heart, higher oxygen uptake capacity, improved muscular oxidative enzyme activities, reduced baseline catecholamine levels, and a lower resting hear t rate. In addition, tennis induces side-specific increments in bone densit y, bone diameter, and bone length of the upper extremity. Furthermore, stru ctural and functional adaptations of the conducting arteries in the preferr ed arm could be demonstrated in professional tennis players. In conclusion, tennis is a very complex sport involving strength, power, speed, agility a nd explosiveness, as well as endurance components. Scientific data on exerc ise-related cardiovascular and metabolic parameters in professional tennis are important to evaluate the players individual fitness level and will hel p to improve sports-specific conditioning programs. This in turn will not o nly enhance performance but also prevent overstrain and burnout syndromes.