Effects of Static and Dynamic Stretching on Agility Performance in Tennis Players

Background & purpose Most sports individuals or athletes including tennis players perform stretching during warm-up prior to physical activity in order to prevent injuries and enhance sports performance by improving flexibility. Traditionally static stretching exercises have been a prominent feature of warm up routines. On the other hand, dynamic stretching improves knee joint position sense, increases oxygen uptake and lowers lactate concentration. Hamstring and calf muscle group play a significant role in agility function in tennis players. So the study is conducted to check the effect of static and dynamic stretching of hamstring and calf muscle on agility performance in tennis players. Objective To check the effect of static and dynamic stretch on agility functions in tennis players. Method36 tennis players were taken for the study and the three different stretch protocols (no stretch, static stretch and dynamic stretch) were performed on each of them and time taken for the two agility drills were recorded in a pre and post stretch interventions. Outcome measures Shuttle run test, Tennis specific agility test Result Results show that there was a significant decrease in time taken to complete the agility drill for the players performing dynamic stretching than those compared to no stretch and static stretching of the hamstrings and calf muscles. Conclusion Static stretching neither improves nor reduces performance and that dynamic stretching enhances performance of tennis players.