Sleep changes from off-season to in-season periods: effects on balance and jumping performance in young high-level tennis players

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2026年6月10日

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Antonino Mulè,
Domenico Savio Salvatore Vicari,
Valerio Giustino,
Flavia Figlioli,
Izabela Rutkowska,
Attilio Carraro,
Fabio Esposito,
Angela Montaruli,
Eliana Roveda,
Bogdan Anđelić,
Francesco Martines,
Antonino Patti,
Jessica Brusa,
Giuseppe Messina,
Antonino Bianco

摘要

Purpose

Sleep has been identified as an important factor influencing performance, as well as sex and chronotype. The study aimed to investigate: (I) sleep changes in tennis season periods; (II) sleep influence on balance and lower-limb strength; (III) sex and chronotype influences.

Methods

Participants filled out a questionnaire to evaluate their chronotype. Sleep habits, balance, and lower limbs strength were evaluated in two season periods: off- and in-season. Forty percent of participants worsened their sleep duration from off- to in-season. Based on this, two groups were made: the worsened sleep group (WSG) and the improved sleep group (ISG).

Results

The WSG showed a decrease in balance performance across all test conditions. This was evidenced by significantly higher Sway Path Length (SPL) and Sway Average Speed (SAS) values in double-leg stance (DLS) both with eyes open (EO) and eyes closed (EC) (p range from 0.043 to < 0.001), as well as in single-leg stance (SLS) (p range from 0.018 to 0.010) from off-season to in-season period. Furthermore, gender-specific differences were also observed. Females had significantly worse SPL and SAS values in right SLS (p ≤ 0.043), while males significantly increased SAS in DLS with EO (p = 0.044), and SPL, SAS, and Sway Ellipse Area (SEA), in DLS with EC (p ≤ 0.018). No sleep effects were found in jumping performance. Evening types showed the lowest SEA in left SLS than the other chronotypes, and at in-season compared to off-season (all p < 0.001).

Conclusions

Sleep remains a critical determinant of performance. Indeed, a reduction in sleep quantity was associated with a significant decline in balance performance, while no effect on jumping performance was observed. The strength of this association may be affected by athletes’ transition from off-season to in-season. This study suggests that individual factors such as sex and chronotype can influence these associations. These results offer valuable insights that require further investigations.