This study examined acute pre- to post-match changes in perceived mental fatigue, subjective workload, and psychomotor performance in professional male soccer players, and whether cognitive changes were associated with GPS-derived external-load metrics, match outcome, and playing position. The dataset comprised 101 player–match measurements from 40 elite players, with paired pre–post psychomotor assessments yielding n = 202 total measurements. Pre–post comparisons were analysed using repeated-measures ANOVA, supplemented by linear mixed-effects models with a random intercept for player. Soccer matches produced large increases in perceived exertion, mental fatigue, mental demand, physical demand, and effort (all p < 0.001), and significant deteriorations in reaction time, accuracy, processing speed, and response variability (all p ≤ 0.005), confirmed in the mixed-effects analyses (all p ≤ 0.014). In the initial player–match-level analyses, high-intensity accelerations (>3 m·s−2) were weakly associated with greater Δreaction-time slowing (r = 0.203), increased response variability (r = 0.276), and reduced Rate Correct Score (r = −0.242), while high metabolic load distance was weakly associated with post-match perceived mental fatigue but not with psychomotor-performance changes. One-way ANOVAs indicated greater post-match psychomotor decrements following losses than draws. Once within-player dependence was modelled, the effects of match outcome, playing position, and most external-load metrics were attenuated, except for a residual match-outcome effect on accuracy and a high-intensity deceleration effect on accuracy. These findings indicate that competitive soccer match play is followed by acute psychomotor-performance decrements and increased perceived mental fatigue, whereas the contributions of mechanical load, match outcome, and playing position appear modest and partly reflect stable between-player differences.
We explored the epidemiological evidence on the prevalence of mental health symptoms among current and former elite athletes as well as among their entourage members. Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted in PubMed, PsycINFO, SportDiscus and Scopus to retrieve original quantitative studies that (i) were written in English, (ii) were conducted exclusively among current or former elite athletes and/or their entourage members, and (iii) presented prevalence rates of mental health symptoms. Results: In total, 72 studies were included, focusing on self-reported mental health symptoms (not on clinically diagnosed mental health disorders). Meta-analyses comprising 2596 to 10,927 current elite athletes showed that the prevalence of mental health symptoms ranged from 4% for drug misuse to 33% for distress. Meta-analyses comprising 2070 to 3405 former elite athletes showed that the prevalence of mental health symptoms ranged from 12% for depression to 28% for alcohol misuse. Because of the considerable heterogeneity among the included studies, the pooled prevalence estimates from these meta-analyses should be interpreted cautiously, as they summarize highly heterogeneous populations. Mental health symptoms were found to also be common among entourage members, with prevalence rates ranging from 5% for depression or anxiety to 53% for alcohol misuse in high-performance staff (including coaches) and reaching up to 36–58% for burnout in healthcare professionals working during the Paralympic games. Conclusions: Showing considerable heterogeneity across included studies, our systematic review and meta-analysis established that mental health symptoms are commonly reported by current and former elite athletes, as well as by their high-performance staff (including coaches) and medical staff. This warrants the implementation of various tailored resources, such as mental health literacy, screening programs and the availability of interdisciplinary medical and psychological support.
The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the validity and accuracy of wearable technologies used for monitoring physiological metrics in team-sport athletes. A systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed and Scopus databases, with additional studies identified through supplementary searching. Studies published between 2015 and 2025 were included if they assessed wearable devices in team-sport populations and compared their measurements with gold-standard methods. A total of eleven studies met the inclusion criteria. The findings indicate that heart rate monitoring demonstrates consistently high validity across different wearable devices, particularly in controlled laboratory conditions. In contrast, energy expenditure estimation shows substantial variability and systematic underestimation, especially during high-intensity and intermittent activities typical of team sports. VO2max estimation presents mixed validity depending on device type and testing protocol, while respiratory frequency measurement demonstrates high agreement with gold-standard methods when assessed using specialized devices. Overall, wearable technologies provide valuable insights into athlete monitoring; however, their accuracy varies considerably depending on the physiological parameter and testing environment. These findings highlight the need for improved validation protocols and caution in the application of wearable-derived data in high-performance team-sport settings.
The aim of this study was to examine the relative contribution of physical performance, executive functions, and competitive anxiety to competitive success in junior tennis players. A total of 39 national-level junior athletes (20 males, 19 females) participated in the study. Physical performance was assessed using a standardized test battery including a 20 m sprint, standing long jump, agility test, and shuttle run. Executive functions were measured using the Adult Executive Functioning Inventory (ADEXI), while competitive anxiety was assessed with the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2). Competitive success was operationalized using ranking points. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was conducted using log-transformed ranking points as the dependent variable. Age and sex explained 71.3% of the variance in LogRanking (R2 = 0.713, p < 0.001). The addition of physical performance variables provided a modest, non-significant increase in explained variance (ΔR2 = 0.068, p = 0.064). Executive functions (ΔR2 = 0.006, p = 0.645) and competitive anxiety (ΔR2 = 0.008, p = 0.801) did not provide additional explanatory power. In the final model, age and standing long jump were significant predictors of LogRanking. These findings suggest that ranking-based competitive success in junior tennis is strongly influenced by age-related and competition-exposure factors. Physical performance showed a limited additional contribution, while executive functions and competitive anxiety did not explain further variance in this sample.
Fencing is an intermittent combat sport in which performance depends on the interaction of neuromuscular qualities, aerobic support, and weapon-specific demands. However, evidence on sex-based differences in the physical capacity profiles of regional fencers remains limited. This study compared the physical capacity profiles of 27 fencers from the Liga Vallecaucana de Esgrima (13 women and 14 men; 14–31 years) in an observational, cross-sectional, comparative study. Field-based assessments included push-ups, sit-ups, squats, jump squats, pull-ups, terminal speed attained in the 20-m shuttle run test, and estimated VO2max. The analysis adopted an exploratory, estimation-oriented approach based on mean differences, 95% confidence intervals, Hedges’ g, supplementary significance testing, false discovery rate adjustment, and a directed acyclic graph to clarify causal assumptions. The most robust sex-based difference was observed in pull-up performance, with men outperforming women by 5.43 repetitions (95% CI: 3.51 to 7.45; g = 1.88), and this was the only comparison retained after FDR correction. No conclusive sex-based differences were found for push-ups, sit-ups, squats, jump squats, terminal shuttle-run speed, or estimated VO2max. Mean estimated VO2max for the overall sample was 43.48 ± 9.12 mL·kg−1·min−1. These findings suggest that upper-limb pulling strength may be the main distinguishing physical quality in this cohort, although its implications for individualized conditioning remain to be established. Nevertheless, the results should be interpreted as observational associations rather than causal effects because of the cross-sectional design, the small sample, the field-based measurements, the imbalance in weapon distribution, and the lack of standardized measures of training exposure.
