USTA High Performance Fitness Testing III: How Do You Measure Up?
(The 20-Yard Dash — third in a series of tennis fitness tests)
By Jim Brown, PhD, Author, Tennis: Steps to Success; Editor, Sports Performance Journal
In the previous two Sports Science columns, we talked about the United States Tennis Association’s 11 components of fitness and injury prevention, as well as the tests to measure those components. Below is a description of the 20-yard dash and standard scores by which you can compare your results to that of a national sample. The 20-yard dash is one way to measure explosive speed.
The full battery of tests appears in the 2007 edition of Complete Conditioning for Tennis, by Paul Roetert and Todd Ellenbecker (Human Kinetics Publishers, Champaign, IL). Dr. Roetert is the Managing Director of the USTA’s Player Development Program. Todd Ellenbecker is the clinic director at Physiotherapy Associates Scottsdale Sports Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona.
20-Yard Dash (in seconds)
Junior Girls
< 3.20: Excellent
3.20-3.36: Good
3.36-3.54: Average
> 3.54 20: Needs Improvement
Adult Women
< 3.30: Excellent
3.30-3.40: Good
3.40-3.60: Average
> 3.60: Needs Improvement
Junior Boys
< 2.90: Excellent
2.90-3.00: Good
3.00-3.30: Average
> 3.30: Needs Improvement
Adult Men
< 3.20: Excellent
3.20-3.30: Good
3.30-3.50: Average
> 3.50: Needs Improvement