The Effects of Skill Level on Distance and Heart Rate in Collegiate Tennis Players

The purpose of this experiment was to evaluate if skill level affects distance traveled and heart rate in tennis players in a collegiate match. Previous studies using professional tennis players have shown an increased distance for higher skill level players. Therefore, it was hypothesized that the higher level group would travel further in a match and have higher heart rates than the lower level group. Men (N=6) and women (N=6) from the TLU tennis team were observed for this experiment. Subjects were placed into either a higher level group (Group A) or a lower level group (Group B), based on their win percentage in competitive drills during practice. Subjects were observed in a total of twelve matches, with their total distance and heart rate noted at the end of each match. The first match of each player was used to compare the variables for the experiment. Two t-tests were used to compare distance and heart rate between the two groups. Significance was set at