The Effects of Fatigue on Visual Reaction Time, Vertical Jump, and Strength in Adolescent Female Basketball Players

Physical and cognitive performance in athletes is closely related to training intensity and fatigue level. In high-intensity sports, fatigue can negatively affect motor and cognitive skills. Investigating how young athletes respond to these effects is important for maintaining performance. Accordingly, the aim of this study is to examine the effects of fatigue on visual reaction time, vertical jump performance, and handgrip strength in adolescent female basketball players. Ten adolescent female basketball players (15.70 ± 1.56 years; 59.70 ± 11.90 kg; 168.10 ± 7.07 cm) who were licensed and actively playing in Konya voluntarily participated in the study. Visual reaction time (using the FitLight™ system), vertical jump (Takei jump-meter), and handgrip strength (Takei hand dynamometer) tests were administered before and after fatigue. Fatigue was induced by a standardized 20-minute full-court basketball match following official game rules, including 5 vs 5 players with continuous play. Data were analyzed using SPSS 25.0; normal distribution was assessed with the Shapiro-Wilk test, and paired samples t-test was used to compare pre- and post-fatigue values. After fatigue, visual reaction time significantly increased in both the dominant and non-dominant hands. A significant decrease was also observed in dominant handgrip strength. However, no statistically significant change was found in non-dominant handgrip strength or vertical jump performance. Fatigue has a particularly negative impact on cognitive-motor skills (reaction time and grip strength) in adolescent female basketball players, while its effect on lower extremity explosive power appears to be limited. These findings may inform the design of training loads and recovery protocols in adolescent female athletes to mitigate fatigue-related performance drops.