Effects of Six Weeks of Pilates Mat Training on Tennis Serve Velocity, Muscular Endurance, and Their Relationship in Collegiate Tennis Players

Abstract

1139 Pilates Mat training has become a popular training tool for athletes. This training method focuses on the core musculature of the body and may help athletes improve sports skills which rely on the transverses abdominus, internal obliques, external obliques, and rectus abdominus; however, the effectiveness of Pilates Mat training is unclear. PURPOSE: To measure the effects of six weeks of Pilates Mat training on tennis serve velocity, muscular endurance, and their relationship in collegiate tennis players. METHODS: Sixteen male collegiate tennis players (20 ± 2 yrs) participated in a six-week course of Pilates Mat training. Prior to the intervention period, all subjects were pre-tested for tennis serve velocity using a radar gun and muscular endurance using a curl-up test. During the intervention period, nine experimental subjects participated in 50-minute Pilates Mat sessions twice a week on non-consecutive days. Seven subjects served as controls. At the conclusion of the six-week intervention period, all subjects were again tested for serve velocity and muscular endurance. RESULTS: There were significant differences in both tennis serve velocity and muscular endurance after six weeks of Pilates Mat training. The mean ± S.D. pre- and post-test serve velocity was 4.52 ± 4.29 miles per hour for the experimental group and – 0.15 ± 2.49 miles per hour for the control group (p<0.05). The mean ± S.D. between pre- and post-test muscular endurance curl-ups for the experimental group was 85.33 ± 44.57 seconds and 16.86 ± 33.16 seconds for the control group (p<0.05). The correlation coefficient for serve velocity and muscular endurance was 0.17 (p = 0.70) for the control group and 0.46 (p = 0.21) for the experimental group, showing no meaningful correlation between the two variables in either group. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that collegiate tennis players may increase tennis serve velocity and muscular endurance after six weeks of Pilates Mat training; however, there is no statistical evidence to support a correlation between the two variables. Supported by a grant from the Southern Connecticut State University Graduate Student Activity Committee and a Graduate Fellowship