Tennis-Specific Incremental Aerobic Test (TSIAT): Construct Validity, Inter Session Reliability and Sensitivity

Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to explore the discriminative capacity of the Tennis-specific Incremental Aerobic Test (TSIAT) in differentiating between international level tennis players (IP) and regional level tennis players (RP), scrutinize the absolute and relative inter-session reliabilities of TSIAT, and assess the sensitivity and the Minimal Detectable Change (MDC) of TSIAT.  Methods: A cohort-based repeated measures study design was used. Twenty-four male tennis players (age: 15.91±3.09 years, body-height: 1.68±0.20 m; body-mass: 67.45±16.06 Kg; body-mass-index: 20.96±1.97 kg·m^-2) participated. TSIAT distance, peak heart rate (HRpeak), and blood lactate concentration ([La]) were measured across two sessions. Inter-session reliability, sensitivity, and minimal detectable change (MDC₉₅) of TSIAT were assessed. Additionally, discriminant ability was evaluated by comparing TSIAT indices between international-level (IP) and regional-level (RP) players. Results: The TSIAT showed excellent reliability (ICC_[3,1]=0.95 and SEM%=1.81) and satisfactory sensitivity (SWC%=1.22). The MDC₉₅ for the distance index was small (<5.02%). IP achieved significantly (p<0.05) greater distances (d=1.63 [large]), HRpeak (d=1.18 [moderate]), and [La] (d=2.51 [large]) compared to RP. The TSIAT demonstrated “very good” discriminant ability between IP and RP groups, with an area under the ROC curve of 0.89. Conclusion: Considering the “excellent” inter-session reliability, “satisfactory” sensitivity and “very good” discriminate athletes by different performance levels, the TSIAT may serve as a trusted tennis-specific incremental aerobic test.