Analysis of successive badminton matches accumulation on neuromuscular fatigue and perceived effort in a national badminton competition

The present study explores how fatigue evolves throughout a single-day national badminton tournament involving five consecutive matches, by examining subjective and objective metrics. Eleven U-17 athletes (14-16 years old; 45% women) were evaluated in a real competition using subjective assessments, including the rate of perceived exertion (RPE), session RPE (sRPE), the muscular fatigue visual analog scale (MFVAS), and the total quality recovery test (TQR), as well as objective measures like countermovement jump peak height (CMJh), drop jump peak height (DJh), and drop jump reactive strength index (RSI) before and after each match. Results showed significantly higher RPE, sRPE, and MFVAS scores and significantly lower CMJh and DJh values in the last matches compared to the first (p<0.05; large effect). sRPE showed a positive moderate-strong relationship with match characteristics, including the number of points (p<0.01), sets played (p<0.05), and match duration (p<0.01). The findings indicate that RPE, sRPE, and MFVAS are the most sensitive metrics for assessing fatigue, with DJh being more effective than CMJh among objective measures, while RSI and TQR showed limited sensitivity. These results offer coaches practical tools for monitoring athlete fatigue during competitions.