Abstract
Professional tennis places extreme physiological, neuromuscular, and psychophysiological demands on athletes, characterized by intermittent high-intensity efforts, prolonged match durations, and short recovery intervals during multi-day tournament schedules. This randomized controlled crossover trial investigated the efficacy of post-match Autogenic Training (AT)—a structured psychophysiological relaxation technique—on autonomic nervous system reactivation, endocrine markers, and perceptual recovery in twenty-four professional male tennis players (age: 22.4 ± 3.1 years; ATP ranking: 310–680). Following competitive three-set matches, participants completed either a 20-minute guided AT intervention or a 20-minute passive rest control protocol. Autonomic recovery was monitored via short-term resting heart rate variability (HRV; root mean square of successive differences [RMSSD] and high-frequency [HF] power) at pre-match baseline, immediately post-match, immediately post-intervention, and 24 hours post-match. Salivary cortisol concentrations, countermovement jump (CMJ) performance, and Total Quality Recovery (TQR) scores were concurrently tracked. Results indicated that AT elicited a significantly faster restoration of cardiac vagal tone compared to passive rest, with RMSSD and HF power showing pronounced elevation immediately post-intervention (p < 0.001, d = 1.12 and p < 0.01, d = 0.88, respectively) that persisted into the next morning. Concurrently, salivary cortisol cleared at an accelerated rate in the AT condition (p = 0.004), accompanied by superior perceived recovery scores (p = 0.002). These findings demonstrate that incorporating post-match autogenic training accelerates parasympathetic reactivation and downregulates neuroendocrine stress, offering coaches and practitioners an accessible, non-invasive recovery modality for tournament play.
