The effect of an 8-week mental training program on ITN test performances of tennis players

Abstract

Background The ITN (International Tennis Number) test is frequently applied to determine the general game success of tennis players. Mental training is widely used to improve the athletic performance. In this context, this study aimed to investigate the effect of an 8-week mental training program applied to male tennis players on ITN test performances. Method Twenty amateur male tennis players voluntarily participated in this study. This study was conducted with a quasi-experimental design and the participants were randomly divided into Tennis and Tennis+Mental training groups. The Tennis group performed only tennis-specific training for 45 minutes, 2 days a week for 8 weeks. The Tennis+Mental training group performed 45 minutes of mental training (imagery, focus, self-talk, and breath control) before each tennis training session, followed by similar training with the tennis group, and the tennis players’ ITN test performances were measured as pre- and post-tests. IBM SPSS package program was used to analyze the obtained data. Two-way repeated measures ANOVA was used to determine the difference between the ITN test and its components of the Tennis and Tennis+Mental training groups. In addition, the percentage differences of time points according to the groups were calculated with the formula “% Δ = (Pre-test - Post-test) / Pre-test *100”. Results There was no statistically significant difference between the ITN test performance of the Tennis and Tennis+Mental training groups. When the measurement times of the groups were compared, it was found that there was a statistically significant difference between the ITN test performances. When group and time interactions in ITN test performances were analyzed between groups, a statistically significant difference was found. According to these results, while the ITN test performance of the Tennis group increased by 6.35%, the ITN test performance of the Tennis+Mental training group increased by 16.51%. Conclusion It was determined that the ITN test scores of tennis players increased through both Tennis and Tennis+Mental training, applied for eight weeks. However, it was determined that mental training in addition to tennis training provided a higher level of improvement in ITN test performances.