A Study On Adolescent Tennis Players: Investigation Of The Relationship Between Change Of Direction And Selective Attention, Simple, Selective And Discrimination Visual Reactions

Abstract

The tennis branch inherently includes skills that require rapid motor control. In order for athletes to exhibit the desired performance in tennis, it is very important for them to react quickly to stimuli from the opponent, carefully adapt their game setups to the opponent, and respond to changes in direction that may develop during the game. In this context, the relationship between reaction, selective attention, and change of direction skills, which are thought to affect the outcome of the match, is a matter of curiosity. Therefore, the aim of the study is to determine the relationship between change of direction, selective attention, and various reaction parameters in adolescent tennis players. A total of 30 adolescent tennis players, 20 male and 10 female, operating in the province of Ankara were included in the study. The inclusion criteria for the study were determined as having a tennis resume of at least 5 years, actively participating in competitions, not having color blindness, and not having any history of acute illness. The average age of the tennis players was determined as 13±1.32 years, and the average age of tennis was determined as 7±1.86 years. Participants' reaction performances were determined with ÇAĞIN Hand and Foot Reaction Tests, selective attention performances with Flanker Test, and direction change performances with Spider Drill Test. Data obtained from participants were transferred to SPSS 29.0 package program and Pearson Correlation Test and descriptive statistics were applied. When the relationship between direction change and hand/foot reaction performances of tennis players was examined, a significant relationship was found only between direction change and hand discrimination reaction time (p<0.05), and no relationship was found between other parameters (p>0.05). When the relationship between selective attention and hand/foot reaction performances of tennis players was examined, no significant relationship was found between parameters (p>0.05). In the light of the findings obtained, it can be said that there is no significant relationship between reaction, selective attention and direction change skills, which are thought to be the determinants of sports performance in tennis, but that determining the mentioned skills in different methods and sample groups in future studies can contribute to the literature in order to understand the relationships between the relevant parameters in more depth.