Trends in Agility Development Research Among Tennis Athletes between 2024 and 2025
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24193/subbeag.71(1).09Keywords:
agility training, change-of-direction, reactive agility, tennis performance, youth tennis athletesAbstract
Agility and change-of-direction (COD) ability represent key determinants of tennis performance, yet the rapid evolution of research in this area over recent years has not been systematically characterized. The present descriptive meta-analysis examined scientific publications from 2024 and 2025 that investigated agility, reactive agility, or COD performance in tennis athletes. Sixteen peer-reviewed studies met inclusion criteria, encompassing intervention trials, test validation studies, observational designs, and systematic reviews. Quantitative analysis revealed an equal distribution of studies between 2024 and 2025, with a marked shift in research orientation: 2024 investigations predominantly emphasized test reliability and short-term interventions, whereas 2025 demonstrated greater methodological rigor through randomized controlled trials and evidence syntheses. Across empirical studies (n = 14), total participants numbered 929, with sample sizes ranging from 14 to 558 (M = 66.36, SD = 142.05, Md = 29.0). Youth and adolescent athletes constituted the majority of participants (62.5%), with comparatively fewer adult or elite samples. These findings suggest that agility research in tennis is transitioning from early validation phases toward applied, high-evidence investigations emphasizing neuromuscular, perceptual-cognitive, and ecological components of performance. The predominance of small, youth-focused studies underscores the need for multi-center trials, longitudinal designs, and elite-level analyses to ensure external validity. Collectively, the observed publication trends indicate a maturing research domain that increasingly integrates measurement precision with applied training science, reinforcing agility as a multifactorial determinant of modern tennis performance.
Article history: Received 2025 December 03; Revised 2026 January 30; Accepted 2026 February 05; Available online 2026 March 30; Available print 2026 April 30.
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
All three authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study, data collection, analysis, and interpretation of the results. Furthermore, all authors were actively involved in drafting the manuscript and critically revising it for important intellectual content. All authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare no conflict of interest related to the present study. The research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors would like to express their appreciation to the individuals and institutions that provided support during the development of this study. Special thanks are extended to colleagues and peers who contributed through constructive feedback and critical review of the manuscript. No external funding was received for this research.
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