Macro periodisation of competition in international women's tennis: Insights for long-term athlete development

This study reports the multi-year periodised international competition engagement of elite top 100 [T100] and 250 [T250] female tennis players during their youth. Tournament data was analysed for 258 female players from 13 to 18 years of age. Players were categorised into groups based on peak professional ranking of T100 or T250. ‘Fast’ or ‘slow’ achieving T100 players were further classified according to the years taken to achieve a professional T100 status. International tournament and match volumes were quantified for junior and professional categories, along with measures of competition density (i.e., time between tournaments and consecutive tournaments). Tournament quality and category were determined by ranking point offerings. A two-way analysis of variance determined the effects of age and ranking group on tournament play. Significant interaction effects for age and ranking group were observed for all junior and professional category tournaments ( p < .05). Significantly higher annual junior tournament volumes featured in the schedules of T100 at ages 14 and 15 ( p < .05) while participation in annual professional tournaments increased for all players at ages 17 and 18 ( p < .05). The top 100 players played more annual matches than the T250 group at 14–16 years ( p < .05). Significant main effects for age revealed decreased days between tournaments and increased consecutive tournaments at 15 years ( p < .05). Increased volume and density of tournament-play exist from 14 years professional female tennis players. Faster achieving T100 players contest higher-quality junior and professional tournaments at earlier ages. These distinctive tournament characteristics can underpin training and competition scheduling recommendations used by national tennis federations.