THE IMPACT OF THE RACKET ON MOBILITY PERFORMANCE IN WHEELCHAIR TENNIS

This study aimed to assess how the act of holding a tennis racket aff ected the manual propulsion of the wheelchair. T he hypothesis was that the presence of the racket during acceleration and the change of direction of wheelchair players negatively aff ected the execution of shots. The research sample consisted of ten wheelchair tennis players. They completed four tests, which evaluated sprinting and manoeuvrability abilities in wheelchair tennis. The results of the paired sample t-test analysis showed the existence of a statistically signifi cant diff erence in the tests performed with and without the use of the racket in wheelchair tennis players. All tests showed high ICCs (0.95–0.99) for the inter-trial reliability times. Higher level players, who should have a better and more effi cient movement technique, due to their fi tness and the way they use strength, are still able to overcome these diffi culties more than lower-level players. The study also proposes a methodological approach to ensure that players with less experience could compete while guaranteeing sports inclusion