Evaluation Statement

• Fitness testing is partially effective in identifying this 45-year-old recreational tennis player’s training needs.
• It provides valuable insight into flexibility, aerobic capacity and agility, but does not fully capture other tennis-specific skills.
• This evaluation will consider both the health safety of the testing and its relevance to an individual’s tennis performance.

Health Safety

• At 45 years old, the player is in a higher-risk group for injury and health concerns.
• The use of the multistage fitness test raises questions, as it is a maximal test that may not be the safest option for older adults.
• A submaximal test, like the Rockport Walk, could have given safer but still useful data.
• Evidence indicates that while the test produced meaningful results, it only partially fulfils safety and suitability needs for this age group.

Tennis Performance Relevance

• Tennis demands agility, aerobic endurance and flexibility.
• The Illinois agility test is highly relevant, as poor agility would directly impact court coverage and reaction to opponents.
• Below-average aerobic capacity also strongly reflects a need for endurance improvement to sustain rallies and recover between points.
• Excellent flexibility is positive but less decisive for tennis performance compared to agility and endurance.
• Therefore, the chosen tests strongly meet performance relevance for identifying training needs.

Final Evaluation

• Overall, the tests are partially effective. They are highly effective in revealing agility and endurance weaknesses but raise safety concerns for a 45-year-old.
• On balance, the strengths outweigh the weaknesses, but using safer submaximal aerobic testing would improve suitability.
• The results still create a useful training plan targeting endurance and agility, which are vital for tennis performance.

Answers could include any three of the following:

• Fitness testing gives elite athletes measurable data on their performance, such as speed, power, and endurance.
• Regular testing helps track improvements or declines over the season, showing if training is working.
• Coaches can use results to adjust training loads and recovery plans, keeping athletes at peak condition.
• Testing also identifies weak areas that need focus, ensuring training targets the right skills.

• A is correct: This testing ensures safety for a client with controlled hypertension while still providing useful fitness data without excessive cardiovascular stress.

Other options:

• B is incorrect: Maximal tests would place excessive stress on the cardiovascular system, inappropriate for someone with hypertension.
• C is incorrect: Anaerobic tests involve high-intensity efforts that cause significant cardiovascular stress despite shorter duration.
• D is incorrect: Flexibility tests alone provide insufficient data for program design and controlled hypertension is compatible with appropriate submaximal testing.

• C is correct: This addresses the aerobic weakness through sport-specific intermittent efforts without compromising the existing strength in agility.

Other options:

• A is incorrect: Increasing agility training volume when it’s already excellent wastes training time and doesn’t address the aerobic capacity weakness.
• B is incorrect: Replacing agility work would cause detraining of an existing strength and continuous aerobic training doesn’t match netball’s intermittent demands.
• D is incorrect: Swapping out anaerobic power training would compromise the explosive movements crucial for netball while not optimally developing sport-specific aerobic capacity.