DESEMPENHO NO BEACH TENNIS: DESAFIOS PARA UMA MODALIDADE EM EXPANSÃO

Abstract

Racket sports are extremely popular and constantly evolving. In the quest for better performance and progress, they draw on sports science, which seeks to apply theory to practice. More traditional sports such as tennis, badminton and table tennis already have a consolidated and constant body of knowledge. Contemporary and emerging sports are emerging and need to build this scientific knowledge in order to continue evolving. Beach tennis (BT) is one such sport that has been attracting a lot of attention in recent years. However, little knowledge has been produced regarding the physical and motor aspects, characterisation of athletes and their training. Thus, this study aims to propose a specific performance test for BT called Agilitybt, which involves agility (rapid changes of direction in response to a stimulus), as well as to describe the characteristics of BT athletes (anthropometric profile, sporting habits and general physical-motor performance) and compare specific physical performance by gender and competitive category. A cross-sectional design was adopted, involving 44 athletes (24 men and 20 women) from different competitive categories (A, B, C), who competed in official BT tournaments in 2024. The proposed test (Agilitybt) was developed after analysing the literature on agility tests and understanding the characteristics of BT, considering the playing surface (sand), distances covered in the game, equipment (racket, ball) and specific stimuli (technical movements of the sport). A pilot study was then conducted with the participation of a team of experts composed of athletes and teachers who contributed to the construction of the test. In addition, general tests of hand grip strength (dominant and non-dominant), seated medicine ball throw, horizontal jump, speed (10 m), and change of direction (modified T) were performed. No relevant anthropometric differences were found between the sexes, but men reported a higher volume of specific training in BT (p = 0.029). Athletes in category A had more experience and participated in more tournaments. The general physical-motor performance tests showed statistical differences between men and women (p < 0.001 and p 0.004), consistent with biological factors. The minimum and maximum times for the Agilitybt test were 8.33 and 11.20 s among male athletes and 9.01 and 12.97 s among female athletes. This time corresponds to the distance travelled from the moment of the serve simulation to the arrival at the centre of the court 3 metres from the net after responding to the 3 stimuli generated by the evaluator, totalling 28.40 m, regardless of the scenario performed. The Agilitybt test showed evidence of ecological validity by reproducing movements and responses to stimuli observed in real game situations, representing a proposal for motor assessment in BT for teachers and coaches.

Keywords: beach tennis, racket sports, physical performance, motor performance, agility.