Work

Integrated monitoring in high-performance tennis: tools and strategies across monitoring horizons and player needs – a scoping review

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Monitoring is a cornerstone of athlete management in high-performance sport.In tennis, intermittent match-play, frequent transitions between training and competition, and contextual variability create a complex monitoring environment.Although numerous technologies quantify physiological, mechanical, and subjective responses, their use remains inconsistent.This scoping review aimed to map the technologies and metrics used to monitor training load and recovery in high-performance tennis, and to evaluate their practical applicability across different monitoring horizons.PubMed, Scopus, and SportDiscus were systematically searched.Studies reporting tennis-specific monitoring of physiological, mechanical, or perceptual metrics during training and/or match-play were included.Studies were categorised according to monitoring horizons (session/match; training blocks: 1-16 weeks; seasonal: > 16 weeks), metric type, and application context.Forty studies were included.Internal and subjective measures -particularly session-rating of perceived exertion (sRPE) -were most commonly reported, reflecting their high feasibility and low cost.The use of external-load technologies has increased, providing tennis-specific insights into movement and stroke demands.However, heterogeneity persists in devices, variable definitions, and reported outputs.Session-level studies indicate that tennis is characterised by moderate average demands, pronounced transient peaks, and elevated psychophysiological stress during competition.The available literature may be usefully organised across three monitoring horizons: session, block, and season.sRPE appears to provide a feasible and low-burden component of monitoring, whereas external-load technologies may add value when focused on validated, tennis-specific variables and interpreted within context.

Source: Biology of Sport

DOI: 10.5114/biolsport.2027.166419

Authors: Marie-Florine Michel, Machar Reid, Jean-Marc Duboscq, Cyril Brechbuhl, Olivier Girard

Institutions: The University of Western Australia, Institut National du Sport, de l'Expertise et de la Performance

Language: English

Topic: Sports Performance and Training

Subfield: Orthopedics and Sports Medicine

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $480