Comparison of the Evaluation of Performance Preconditions in Tennis with the Use of Equal and Expertly Judged Criteria Weights

Abstract

Tennis performance is influenced by various factors, among which physical performance factors play an important role. The aim of the study was an analysis of possibilities of the use of Saaty’s method for assessing the level of performance prerequisites and comparing the results obtained using equal weights and various weights. The research on Czech female players (U12; n = 211) was based on the results of the TENDIAG1 test battery (9 items) and the results were processed by FuzzME software and relevant statistical methods (correlation coefficient r, Student´s t-test, effect size index d). The results of Saaty’s method show that the most important athletic performance criteria for tennis coaches are the leg reaction time and the running speed, while the least important are endurance and strength. The evaluation using various criteria weights offers a finer scale for assessing athletes’ performance prerequisites despite the proven high degree of association between the results obtained with equal and various weights and the insignificant difference of mean values. The results have shown possibilities for the use of a fuzzy approach in sports practice and motivate further research towards broadening the structure or the number of evaluation criteria.

Talent identification among elite Czech male junior tennis players (U12) according to their future tennis performance and birthdate

“…Diagnosing the level of fitness prerequisites is therefore a usual part of TI, many authors emphasize the importance of identifying such factors of sports performance that significantly determine or influence it (Ferrauti, Maier, & Weber, 2014;Hohmann, Lames, & Letzeter, 2007;Schönborn, 2006). The principle of evaluating the diagnostic results of performance preconditions is most often based on classical set theory using normative reference values, but alternative approaches based on fuzzy set theory are also emerging (Zháněl, Holeček, & Zderčík, 2021). However, the results of physical fitness tests in adolescence cannot be relied upon to predict athletic performance in adulthood.…”