Does Acute Mental Fatigue Affect Service Performance in Recreational Tennis Players?

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of mental fatigue (MF) on service performance and recovery time in recreational tennis players. A total of 57 recreational tennis players participated in this research (male= 26, female= 31). This study included four groups: the control group, 0-minute group, 10-minute group, and 20-minute group. Except for the control group, the other three groups used Instagram for 30 minutes before the test. These groups were formed based on the tennis players' waiting times after MF. The service test was performed immediately in the 0-minute group, after a 10-minute rest period in the 10-minute group, and after a 20-minute rest period in the 20-minute group. A randomized controlled experimental design was used in the study. A dependent-samples t-test was used to compare the means of the first and second services. A repeated-measures ANOVA was used to compare group means. The alpha value was determined to be 0.05. In the 0-minute group, a significant difference was observed between the first- and second-service scores (p < 0.001). A significant difference (p < 0.05) was found between the 0-minute group and all other groups. Spending 30 minutes on social media caused MF, which lowered the service scores of recreational tennis players. In this study, mental recovery began after a 10-minute break from Instagram. According to this study, disconnecting from social media for at least 10 minutes before starting a workout was effective in maintaining performance.

Keywords

• Mental fatigue
• Tennis
• Service

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