# Effects of Exergaming Tennis on Players’ Tennis Skills and Mental State Compared to Regular Tennis in Adult Players: Quasi-Experimental Study

## TL;DR

Exergaming tennis training combined with regular tennis is as effective as regular tennis alone for improving skills and confidence in beginners, while better maintaining motivation.

## Contribution

This study is one of the first to compare exergaming tennis with traditional tennis for skill and psychological outcomes in novice players.

## Key findings

- Both exergaming and traditional tennis training improved technical skills, grip strength, and confidence in novices.
- Exergaming training better preserved intrinsic motivation compared to traditional tennis alone.
- Positive correlations were found between grip strength, confidence, and tennis technical skills.

## Abstract

Exergaming, which combines physical activity with interactive gaming, has been shown to improve motor skills and fitness. However, exergaming’s potential in complex, open-skill sports such as tennis, which require real-time coordination, decision-making, and technical precision, remains underexplored. Furthermore, only a few studies have evaluated the impact of exergaming on both technical skill development and psychological outcomes such as motivation and confidence, especially among novice players. This study addresses these gaps by comparing the combination of exergame-based tennis training and on-court tennis training (EBTT+OCTT) with on-court tennis training alone (OCTT×2) in improving technical skills, grip strength, confidence, and motivation.

This study aims to assess the effect of exergaming tennis in developing tennis technical skills, grip strength, confidence level, and motivation level.

In a 12-week quasi-experimental trial, 66 novices were randomized to either the EBTT+OCTT or the OCTT×2 group. Participants consisted of 22 males and 44 females, with the mean BMI and age of approximately 22 (SD 2.9) kg/m2 and 26 (SD 7) years, respectively. The EBTT+OCTT group had 1 weekly session of OCTT and 1 session of exergaming training using Virtual Tennis (PlayStation 3 Move), while the OCTT×2 group completed 2 weekly on-court sessions. Outcomes included tennis technical skills such as groundstroke technique, service speed, and service accuracy (assessed using the Hewitt tennis test), grip strength (using a handheld dynamometer), confidence (using the Sports Confidence Inventory), and motivation (using the Sport Motivation Scale). Mean differences (MDs) between pre- and postintervention were collected and analyzed using repeated-measures ANOVA (α=.05) and Pearson correlation analysis. Effect sizes were calculated using partial eta squared (ηp²), where values ≥0.14 indicated large effects.

After 12 weeks of training, both EBTT+OCTT and OCTT×2 groups showed significant improvements (P<.001) in tennis technical skills (MD=17.06-22.62), grip strength (MD=9.59-11.04 kg), and confidence levels (MD=23.29-26.28). These outcome measures have large effect sizes (ηp²=0.84-0.92); however, they did not significantly differ (P>.05) across the groups when compared, with Pgrip strength=.24, Phit=.97, Paccuracy=.86, Pspeed=.72, and Pconfidence=.31. In terms of motivation, EBTT+OCTT retained intrinsic motivation (IM) better than OCTT×2, with significant reductions in IM, mainly IM-to-know (MD=7, SD 2.95) and IM-to-accomplish (MD=5, SD 3.77) observed in the OCTT×2 group (P<.001). Grip strength, confidence, and motivation levels (except amotivation) showed positive correlations with tennis technical skills (r=0.39-0.80).

EBTT+OCTT and OCTT×2 significantly improve tennis skills and confidence levels in novice players, although no significant differences were found between the two. However, EBTT+OCTT appeared to better sustain IM. Thus, EBTT+OCTT may serve as a supplementary tool for novice players to better learn tennis.