Prashant Kumar Choudhary¹, Suchishrava Choudhary¹, Borko Katanic², Yajuvendra Singh Rajpoot³, Sohom Saha¹, Ritesh Bhardwaj¹, Vlad Adrian Geantă⁴, Robert Citozi⁵

¹Lakshmibai National Institute of Physical Education, Department of Physical Education Pedagogy, Gwalior, India
²Montenegrin Sports Academy, Podgorica, Montenegro
³Lakshmibai National Institute of Physical Education, Department of Sports Management and Coaching, Gwalior, India
⁴Aurel Vlaicu University of Arad, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, Arad, Romania
⁵Sport University of Tirana, Faculty of Physical Activity and Recreation, Tirana, Albania

Acute Effects of Elastic Resistance Band-Based Post-Activation Potentiation Protocol on Explosive Performance in Trained Male Tennis Players

Sport Mont 2026, 24(1), Ahead of Print | DOI: 10.26773/smj.260213

Abstract

Post-activation potentiation (PAP) is widely used to acutely enhance power output and neuromuscular performance in athletes; however, traditional PAP methods often rely on heavy resistance loading, which may be impractical in tennis- specific warm-up contexts. Elastic resistance bands (ERBs) offer a portable, variable-resistance alternative that may produce similar potentiation effects but remain underexplored for this application. This study investigated the acute effects of an ERB-based PAP protocol on explosive performance variables in intermediate-level male tennis players and compared outcomes to a passive control condition. Eleven trained male tennis players (age: 19.7±1.2 years; training experience: 2.5±0.4 years) were allocated to either an experimental group (n=6), performing an ERB-based PAP protocol, or a control group (n=5). Performance outcomes including: jump height, force-related variables, power output, and movement velocity were assessed using a BTS force plate before and at 3, 6, and 9 minutes post-activation. Repeated- measures and mixed 2×4 ANOVA revealed significant within-group improvements in the experimental group across all performance metrics (p<0.05), with the largest effects observed at 3 minutes post-activation (e.g., jump height: +5.28 cm, d=1.85). No meaningful changes were observed in the control condition. These findings indicate that an ERB-based PAP protocol can acutely enhance explosive lower-limb performance in trained tennis players, with optimal effects occurring within 3–6 minutes post-activation. ERBs may therefore provide a practical and sport-specific alternative to heavy resistance priming for on-court warm-up routines in tennis and similar power-demanding sports.

Keywords

post-activation potentiation, elastic resistance, tennis athletes, explosive strength, power output, warm-up

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