The Effect of Agility Ladder Drills on Agility Improvement in Tennis Players

Abstract

This study examined whether agility ladder drill training could improve agility among tennis athletes at Club Ciamis Tennis Academy. An experimental approach with a One Group Pretest–Posttest Design was employed. The study involved 14 athletes in the club, while 8 athletes met the participation criteria and completed all stages of the program. Agility was assessed through the Spider Drill Test before and after six weeks of training, consisting of 18 sessions. The data were examined using descriptive statistics, the Shapiro–Wilk test, and the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test. The mean test time decreased from 19.25 seconds at pretest to 18.06 seconds at posttest, an improvement of 1.19 seconds. The Wilcoxon test showed a significant difference between measurements (p = 0.012), and all eight athletes recorded faster completion times after training. This result suggests improved performance in the Spider Drill Test following the program. The improvement may be associated with repeated footwork patterns, rapid movements, changes of direction, balance, and coordination practiced through agility ladder drills. These skills are relevant to tennis, where athletes must move quickly and change direction efficiently to reach the ball. Therefore, agility ladder drill training may serve as an alternative method for developing agility in tennis athletes and may help coaches design structured, progressive physical-conditioning programs. However, because the study used a single group without a control group, the findings should be interpreted cautiously. Further studies with larger samples and control groups are needed to confirm the effectiveness of this training method