Firstbeat Heart Rate Monitors Approved For Use in ITF Competitions After LTA Application

Elite tennis players will for the first time be able to gain far greater insight into the impact of matches on their bodies and recovery times, after an LTA application for Firstbeat heart rate monitors to be used across ITF competitions was granted.

The news means that British players can now wear the Firstbeat Sports Sensor during tournament matches – a global first for tennis – which will allow them and their coaching teams to work with the LTA Performance team to analyze a vast new range of data relating to internal and external load, physiological response to matches and ability to recover.

Firstbeat transform heartbeat data into personalized information. Firstbeat Sports is a single-platform athlete-monitoring solution that provides data on training load, intensity, fitness, performance readiness, stress, and recovery. Over 23,000 athletes representing over 1,000 teams around the world rely on Firstbeat Sports for their advanced physiological metrics.

The successful application continues the LTA’s drive to move the sport forward through innovation, and forms part of a wider LTA strategy to use advanced athlete monitoring technology to support elite players both when training at home and when competing on tour.

As well as pushing for its use on tour, the LTA has also made Firstbeat one of a number of technologies available to professional players training at the National Tennis Centre who are part of the LTA’s Player Pathway and receive support through the governing body’s Elite, Pro Scholarship and Men’s & Women’s Programmes.

Dan Lewindon, LTA Head of Performance Medicine & Science said:

“We are constantly looking to how we can better support and empower our players, coaches and practitioners throughout the LTA Player Pathway, and we’re very pleased that this will be enhanced further through the granting of this application. While other sports have used this technology for many years, we are really excited to be working at the forefront of this field in tennis. Our overall aim is for the National Tennis Centre to continue to be the venue of choice for our best players and their teams to train, and for our highly experienced Performance team to support players on tour through the use of technology like this. The granting of this application will open the door to widespread, affordable use of similar technology, with a specific focus on the cardiovascular demands and ‘loads’ in training and matches.”

Nigel Stockill, UK Performance Director, Firstbeat said:

“We are extremely proud to be working with the LTA on this ground-breaking partnership. By collecting Firstbeat data during matches, players and coaches alike will have access to actionable insights into how their body truly responds to match situations and stressors. This information will aid support staff – from coaches and analysts to physiologists – in devising more accurate and relevant training and practice sessions to best prepare world class athletes. Our technology is used across the globe by some of the world’s elite athletes with the aim of helping to optimize performance and recovery and we’re excited to help British tennis players do the same.”

The LTA has put in place a 10-year performance strategy to develop and support the next generation of elite players, as one of the main pillars of its vision to open up tennis to many more people. When combined with the introduction of the new LTA Youth grassroots programme, it means for the first time there is now a clear pathway in place for every age and stage of a player’s development from first picking up a racket through to competing against the world’s best players.

About Firstbeat: Firstbeat Technologies is a leading sports and wellness technology company. Our solutions transform physiological data into personalized guidance on exercise, stress, sleep and recovery. Hundreds of elite sports teams, thousands of wellness professionals, and top companies in over 40 countries trust Firstbeat to enhance performance and well-being. Our purpose is to help people reach their health and performance potential with science-backed confidence. The head office is located in Jyväskylä, Finland.

About the LTA: The LTA is the National Governing Body of tennis in Great Britain. We are here to govern and grow tennis, from grassroots participation through to the professional game.  Our vision is “Tennis Opened Up” and we’re on a mission to grow tennis by making it relevant, accessible, welcoming and enjoyable.  We work with schools, with volunteers, with coaches and with venues across the whole country. We also represent the interests of over 685,000 Members, men and women, girls and boys, playing on more than 23,000 courts.  The LTA runs and supports a network of 11,500 approved tournaments for players of all ages, the four corner-stones of which are the premier grass-court events leading up to The Championships, Wimbledon: the Nature Valley Open (at Nottingham), the Nature Valley Classic (at Birmingham), the Fever-Tree Championships (at The Queen’s Club, London) and the Nature Valley International (at Eastbourne).