Neurocognitive training versus conventional drills for reactive agility in tennis players

  • Muhammad Ali 
    Universita Jambi
    Indonesia
  • Fadli Ihsan
    Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta
    Indonesia

Abstract

Traditional agility training in tennis primarily emphasizes pre-planned movement patterns and may not adequately address the perceptual-cognitive demands required during competitive play. Neurocognitive training has emerged as a promising approach that integrates cognitive processing, visual perception, decision-making, and motor execution simultaneously. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the effects of neurocognitive training and conventional agility drills on reactive agility and match performance in competitive tennis players. This study employed a randomized controlled experimental design involving 30 competitive tennis players aged 18–24 years. Participants were randomly assigned to either the Neurocognitive Training Group (NTG; n = 15) or the Conventional Drill Group (CDG; n = 15). Both groups completed an 8-week intervention program conducted three times weekly. Reactive agility, reaction time, decision-making accuracy, and tennis match-performance indicators were assessed before and after the intervention using stimulus-based agility testing, computerized cognitive assessments, and standardized match analysis. Data were analyzed using repeated-measures ANOVA with a significance level of p < 0.05. The results demonstrated significant improvements in both groups; however, the NTG showed greater enhancement across all variables. Reactive agility improved by 13.52% in the NTG compared with 6.45% in the CDG (p < 0.001). Decision-making accuracy increased from 74.18% to 86.53% in the NTG, while the CDG improved from 75.01% to 79.42%. Additionally, rally success percentage increased significantly in the NTG (51.27% to 63.82%) compared with the CDG (50.94% to 56.17%). In conclusion, neurocognitive training was more effective than conventional drills in improving reactive agility, cognitive responsiveness, and match performance in tennis players.

Keywords
  • Neurocognitive training
  • Reactive agility
  • Decision-making
  • Cognitive-motor training
  • Racket sports
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