The technical training of young brazilian tennis players

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the technical training of young tennis players from Brazil. A questionnaire containing 12 questions related to technical skills was applied to 432 young tennis players (boys and girls), 13 to 16 years of age, who participate in official competitions in Brazil. It was observed that young tennis players do not practice the essential combinations of technical skills in a balanced way. The same result was observed between players ranked among the top 10 players in Brazil and players not ranked among the top 10. The results of this study suggest that young tennis players from Brazil are subjected too early to a specialized training that emphasizes the perfection of only a few technical skills, and that the technical training does not take into consideration the differences in age and maturation of the players.