Analysis of player heart rate and stroke success in tennis drill scenarios
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Heart rate (HR) is a practical indicator of physiological load and arousal, yet its shot by shot relationship with tennis performance remains insufficiently characterized. We quantified associations between HR and stroke outcome and spatial accuracy during a standardized target based drill. The dataset comprised 8,197 shots from 23 players across 93 training sessions. HR was sampled at 1 Hz and temporally aligned to each shot using a fixed ±5 s window around the shot reference time, enabling the extraction of absolute HR levels, short term HR changes and HR intensity zones. Shot outcomes (successful/unsuccessful) and distance to the nearest target area corner were obtained using a camera based tracking system. Successful strokes were generally associated with lower HR levels (p< 0.001; small effects, r ≈ 0.17). Short term HR dynamics provided limited additional discrimination, with only pre-shot change showing a small difference between outcomes. HR intensity zones were associated with success (p< 0.001), with a greater proportion of successful strokes occurring in lower zones (Zones 1-3). Accounting for repeated shots within sessions and players, mixed-effects models were additionally fitted. Higher HR remained associated with lower odds of shot success (OR per 10 bpm = 0.957, 95% CI 0.953-0.961) and a model using heart rate at the shot instant yielded very similar estimates. The continuous distance outcome showed weaker evidence after hierarchical adjustment. Overall, shot-aligned HR monitoring may provide useful contextual information for interpreting performance during precision-focused drills. However, the modest effect sizes suggest that HR should be considered alongside technical and task-related indicators rather than as a primary basis for training decisions.
Date Issued
2026-04-30
Date Acceptance
2026-04-09
Citation
Frontiers in Physiology, 2026, 17
ISSN
1664-042X
Publisher
Frontiers Media S.A.
Journal / Book Title
Frontiers in Physiology
Volume
17
Copyright Statement
© 2026 Balci, Cicek, Sayin, Salturk, Sarialioglu, Ozel, Kakulia, Demircali and Uvet. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
License URL
Identifier
10.3389/fphys.2026.1820693
Subjects
athlete performance
heart rate
shot success
sport
statistical analysis
tennis
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
ARTN 1820693