The Addition of Core Muscle Training on Tennis Serve Speed in Tennis Players

Overview

Compared with shoulder-only training and with continued tennis training alone, will the addition of core strengthening to shoulder training produce significantly greater improvements in flat serve ball speed in healthy tennis players? Secondary Hypothesis: * Combined core + shoulder training will produce greater improvement in serve accuracy than shoulder-only training or tennis training alone. * Combined core + shoulder training will produce greater improvement in TGAR than shoulder-only training or tennis training alone. * Combined core + shoulder training will produce greater improvement in core strength/endurance and shoulder rotational strength than the comparator groups.

The kinetic chain model suggests that core musculature plays a crucial role in transferring energy from the lower body to the upper extremity during the tennis serve. However, evidence on the relationship between core strength and tennis serve (TS) ball speed and passive total glenohumeral arc of rotation (TGAR) remains inconsistent, warranting further investigation. It is hypothesized that the addition of core muscle exercises to the training program would yield greater improvements in terms of tennis serve ball speed and TGAR when compared to a control group performing only shoulder exercises in tennis players. Tennis players with at least 1-3 years of weekly tennis training will be included and allocated randomly into the control group (CG) and experimental group (EG). CG participants will perform shoulder exercises and sham core exercises. EG participants will receive the same training as CG in addition to performing core exercises. Both groups will participate in a 12-week intervention (2 sessions per week, 50 minutes per session). Pre- and postintervention assessments will include TS ball speed analysis and TGAR, respectively.