Acute beetroot juice supplementation does not improve match-play activity in professional tennis players

Objective: Beetroot juice is a source of dietary nitrate (NO3-) recognized as a potential ergogenic aid to enhance tolerance during endurance exercise of submaximal-to-maximal intensity. However, little is known about the effects of beetroot juice on exercise performance in intermittent sports such...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Fernández Elías, Valentín E., Courel Ibáñez, Javier, Pérez López, Alberto|||0000-0003-0220-6240, Jodra Jiménez, Jesús Pablo|||0000-0003-3331-8464, Moreno Pérez, Víctor, Coso, Juan del, López Samanes, Álvaro
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2022
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Alcalá (UAH)
Repositorio:e_Buah Biblioteca Digital Universidad de Alcalá
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ebuah.uah.es:10017/62908
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10017/62908
https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07315724.2020.1835585
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Elite athlete
External load
Nutrition
Racquet sports
Sports performance
Supplement
Deportes
Sports
Descripción
Sumario:Objective: Beetroot juice is a source of dietary nitrate (NO3-) recognized as a potential ergogenic aid to enhance tolerance during endurance exercise of submaximal-to-maximal intensity. However, little is known about the effects of beetroot juice on exercise performance in intermittent sports such as tennis. The present study aimed to determine the effect of acute beetroot juice supplementation on movement patterns during a competitive tennis match in professional players. Methods: In a double-blind and randomized experiment, nine professional tennis players performed two experimental trials 3h after ingesting either 70 mL of a commercially-available concentrated beetroot juice (6.4 mmol NO3-) or placebo (0.005 mmol NO3-). In each experimental trial, players completed a 3-set tennis match and two performance tests (i.e., serve speed and isometric handgrip strength) before and after the match. Match-play running performance was recorded using wearable GPS and accelerometer units. Results: In comparison to the placebo trial, the acute beetroot juice supplementation did not modify any match-play running performance (p = 0.178 to 0.997, d = 0.01 to 0.42). Furthermore, beetroot juice supplementation did not alter the pre-to-post match change in serve speed (p = 0.663, ?p 2 = 0.03) or isometric handgrip strength (p = 0.219, ?p 2 = 0.18). Conclusions: The current results indicated that acute ingestion of a commercialized shot of nitrate-rich beetroot juice (70 mL containing 6.4 mmol of NO3-) did not produce any performance benefit on tennis matchplay. Thus, acute beetroot juice supplementation seems an ergogenic aid with little value to enhance physical performance in professional tennis players.