Six-week effects of ankle bracing and taping on specific performance in tennis collegiate players: a randomized...

Ankle injury prevention is critically important in tennis. Although prophylactic ankle supports can effectively reduce the risk of injury, they may potentially impair athletic performance. Accordingly, this study aimed to evaluate both immediate and six-week effects of ankle taping and bracing on tennis-specific performance in male collegiate tennis players, thereby supporting evidence-based application.

Forty-five male collegiate tennis players were randomized into three groups, namely the brace group (BG), the taping group (TG), and the control group (CG). Participants in BG and TG wore ankle supports during tennis sessions for six weeks, whereas those in the CG trained without any support. Performance was measured at five time points: baseline (Tb), immediately after the intervention (T0), and at biweekly intervals thereafter (T2, T4, and T6). Outcomes included four tennis-specific performance measures, the International Tennis Number On-court Assessment, and self-perception questionnaires. The performance measures included vertical jump, 10-meter sprint, sideline to forward sprint, and sideline turn-back sprint.

After adjusting for baseline (Tb) using a linear mixed model, both ankle braces and taping demonstrated immediate improvements at T0 compared with the control group in the 10-m sprint (BG vs. CG: p = 0.002, TG vs. CG: p = 0.001) and left sideline to forward sprint (BG vs. CG: p = 0.026, TG vs. CG: p = 0.043). However, in the ITN mobility test, the brace group was significantly slower than the control group (MD = 0.958s, p = 0.044). We found a significant Group × Time interaction in the 10-m sprint (F = 9.736, p < 0.001) and the sideline to forward sprint (Left: p = 0.002; Right: p = 0.011). The brace group recorded its fastest 10-m sprint time at Week 2 (p < 0.001), whereas the taping group did so at Week 4 (p < 0.001). A significant main effect of time was observed across all speed and agility assessments (p < 0.001).

In simple sprint and single change-of-direction tasks, both ankle bracing and taping led to faster performance, with improvements observed both immediately and over a six-week period. However, in complex directional-change agility tasks such as the ITN mobility test, ankle bracing resulted in slower performance. Athletes should weigh potential performance benefits against possible movement constraints, and the use of ankle supports should be individualized.

Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, ChiCTR2500107099, August 4, 2025, retrospectively registered.