KMAN Publication Inc. International Journal of Sport Studies for Health 2588-5782 9 Serial Number 27 2026 10 01 Effects of Combined Cognitive-Motor Training on Agility, Decision-Making, and Match Performance in Competitive Tennis Players: A Randomized Controlled Trial Effects of Combined Cognitive-Motor Training on Agility, Decision-Making, and Match Performance in Competitive Tennis Players: A Randomized Controlled Trial 1 14 10.61838/kman.intjssh.5526 EN Journal Article 2026 05 22 <table> <tbody> <tr> <td> <p><strong>Objective:</strong>  Modern tennis performance increasingly depends on the integration of perceptual-cognitive and movement-related abilities due to the highly dynamic and unpredictable nature of competitive match play. Although combined cognitive-motor training (CCMT) has gained increasing attention in open-skill sports, evidence regarding its effectiveness in competitive tennis remains limited. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the effects of CCMT on reactive agility, decision-making ability, and match performance in competitive tennis players.</p> <p><strong>Materials and Methods: </strong>An assessor-blinded randomized controlled trial with a parallel-group pretest–posttest design was conducted involving 40 competitive tennis players aged 16–22 years. Participants were randomized into experimental (n = 20) and control groups (n = 20). Following two non-intervention-related withdrawals in the control group, final per-protocol analyses included 38 participants. The experimental group performed combined cognitive-motor training integrated within the regular training schedule for eight weeks, whereas the control group performed regular tennis training only. Reactive agility, tennis-specific decision-making, and match performance were evaluated before and after the intervention period. Data were analyzed using a linear mixed model (p &lt; 0.05).</p> <p><strong>Findings: </strong>The experimental group demonstrated significantly greater improvements in reactive agility performance compared with the control group (F = 18.72, p ≤ 0.001). Significant group × time interaction effects were also identified for decision-making accuracy (F = 16.94, p ≤ 0.001) and response time (F = 14.27, p ≤ 0.001). In addition, the experimental group exhibited greater improvements in match-performance indicators, including winners (F = 11.83, p = 0.002), unforced errors (F = 13.26, p = 0.001), rally success percentage (F = 15.11, p ≤ 0.001), point-winning efficiency (F = 13.02, p = 0.001), and tactical efficiency index (F = 12.48, p = 0.001). No serious adverse events or intervention-related injuries were reported during the intervention period.</p> <p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Combined cognitive-motor training produced greater improvements in reactive agility, tennis-specific decision-making performance, and competitive match outcomes compared with regular tennis training alone. These findings suggest that integrating cognitive challenges within representative sport-specific movement tasks may provide an effective strategy for enhancing perceptual-cognitive and movement-related performance capacities in competitive tennis players. Future studies should investigate long-term retention effects and explore the underlying mechanisms associated with cognitive-motor adaptation in sport-specific training environments.</p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> https://www.journals.kmanpub.com/index.php/Intjssh/article/download/5526/11918