The aerobic and anaerobic endurance is a factor of tennis performance. There is deficit of specific field tests for tennis that can provide complementary information to the laboratory test; therefore it is necessary to investigate on new field test that allows to relate the physiological parameters with the technical ones, for a better objective control of the tennis performance. Aim: The aim of this preliminary study was to analyze the behaviour of the workload and physiological parameters tied to the same one on the success or efficiency of stroke (ES), obtained during a field tennis test. Methods: The study was realized by 5 tennis players (age 23 ± 1,9 years; height 174.9 ± 5.7 cm; weight 68.1 ± 5.7 kg; training per week 8.2 ± 2 hours). All subjects performed two incremental protocols to exhaustion: laboratory test (treadmill test) and a tennis specific field test. The field test consisted of repeated strokes (forehand and backhand) during 1 min, with 20 sec of rest. In both tests, heart rate (HR) and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) was monitored; the ventilatory thresholds were determined in the laboratory test. Results: High positive correlation was found between intensity, HR and RPE (p <0.001), while the correlation between it and ES was highly significant (p <0.01) and negative. Conclusion: We think that there is an inversely proportional relation between the ES with the HR and the RPE. The pro file of efficiency of stroke for the subjects is related to the metabolic zones: maximum ES is in aerobic zone (VT1) and minim ES is located in maximum intensity of the test.
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