Effects of isolated or combined carbohydrate and caffeine supplementation on tennis training performance: single-blind randomized placebo-controlled crossover session
Mekki Abdioğlu, Ahmet Mor, Dan Iulian Alexe, Raul Marian Todor, Elena Adelina Panaet, Cristina Ioana Alexe, Fırat Akça
Abstract
Background In long tennis matches, the number of unforced errors in groundstrokes increases. However, players need to maintain their successful strokes consistently in order to be successful in matches. To overcome this situation, tennis players utilize certain ergogenic supplements. In order to determine the most effective ergogenic supplement on players’ performance, it is aimed to investigate the effects of caffeinated chewing gum (CAF GUM ), carbohydrate gel (CHO GEL ) and cho gel + cafe gum (CHO GEL + CAF GUM ) on tennis players’ basic strokes, countermovement jumps (CMJ), heart rate (HR), ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) and gastrointestinal discomfort in a training session. Method The study included 14 male tennis players (mean age: 15.93 ± 0.83 years, height: 173.86 ± 6.89 cm, and body mass: 60.64 ± 2.58 kg) with experience in national and international tournaments. Players ingested CHO GEL (21.1 g) + CAF GUM (100 mg) or CHO GEL (21.1 g) + gum placebo (PLA GUM ) or CAF GUM (100 mg) or PLA GUM before a high-intensity workout and at the end of each set. Results The CHO GEL + CAF GUM session performed better groundstrokes than the control (CON) ( p = 0.001) and the PLA GUM sessions ( p = 0.001). When total RPE values were considered in the training session, the CHO GEL + CAF GUM session had lower RPE scores than the CON ( p = 0.010) and PLA GUM ( p = 0.044) sessions. The CHO GEL + PLA GUM session had significantly lower RPE scores than the CON ( p = 0.005) and PLA GUM ( p = 0.005) sessions. The CAF GUM session had significantly lower RPE scores than the CON ( p = 0.013). It was observed that no supplements significantly affected either HR ( p = 0.188) or CMJ ( p = 0.349) scores. Conclusions In conclusion, there was a significant difference on basic strokes and RPE scores between CHO GEL + CAF GUM supplementation used before and during training compared with the control session. At the same time, there was no significant performance outcomes between CHO GEL and CAF GUM sessions.