The relationship between chronotype and performance in university students receiving tennis training

This study was conducted to examine the relationship between chronotype characteristics and performance among university students receiving tennis training. The sample of the study consisted of 27 volunteer athletes (age: 22.29 ± 1.32; height: 169.0 ± 0.10 cm; weight: 65.48 ± 12.68 kg; BMI: 22.55 ± 2.64), all of whom had been actively playing tennis for at least three years. Participants' height and body weight were measured, and their chronotype characteristics were determined using the "Self-Assessment Questionnaire for Determining Morningness–Eveningness Types in Human Circadian Rhythm" developed by Pündük, Gür, and Ercan (2005). Based on the results of this scale, the athletes were divided into two groups: morning-type and evening-type. The International Tennis Number (ITN) test was administered to assess performance. Before selecting the statistical tests to be applied to the data, the Shapiro-Wilk test was used to assess whether the error terms were normally distributed. A paired sample t-test was used for within-group comparisons, while an independent sample t-test was used for between-group comparisons. The research findings were presented as mean and standard deviation (Mean ± SD), and statistical significance was accepted at the p<0.05 level. Statistical analyses were performed using IBM SPSS version 26.0.No statistically significant differences were found in any parameter in either the within-group or between-group analyses (p>0.05). As a result, the analyses conducted in this study indicate that being a morning-type or evening-type individual in terms of circadian rhythm does not have a statistically significant effect on tennis performance.