ACUTE EFFECTS OF STATIC STRETCHING AND PROPRIOCEPTIVE NEUROMUSCULAR FACILITATION ON THE PERFORMANCE OF VERTICAL JUMP IN ADOLESCENT TENNIS PLAYERS

Introduction: Traditionally the fl exibility exercises have been enclosed as part of the warm-up that precedes a tennis match. However, a controversy exists if the intensity of execution of fl exibility would have infl uence on the athletic performance. The objective of the present study was to verify the acute effect of the static stretching and the proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) on the performance of jump in adolescent tennis players. Materials and Methods: To participate on the experiment it was chosen nine young tennis players, being four of feminine sex and fi ve of the masculine sex, with average age of 14.4 years-old, participants of a tennis school. The group had a warm-up participating of the activities of the tennis lesson and then they executed the jumps. After that a session of trainings of flwas carried through immediately after performing new jump. Results: After statistical treatment, the results did not present signifi cant change in the height of jump (p = 0.66 > 0.05) between the tests and post test and static and PNF stretching. Discussion: Athletes, who directly need the muscular strength for power generation as the tennis players, seem to not being benefi ted with exercises of passive stretching or PNF preceding the specifi c exercise.