Effects of mental fatigue on agility and coordination in female soccer players under high ambient temperature.

Objective: To explore the effects of mental fatigue (MF) induced under high ambient temperature on agility and coordination in female soccer players. Methods: A randomized crossover design was adopted. Twenty-four female soccer players were recruited, and 19 participants completed all experimental sessions in a randomized balanced crossover design under high temperature (≥32 °C) or normal temperature (23 ± 1 °C), including either a 45-min Stroop task or a neutral video-watching control task followed by the Illinois agility test and the Harre circuit test, with a one-week washout period. All 19 participants were included in the final statistical analyses.Two-way repeated-measures ANOVA was used to examine the main and interactive effects of ambient temperature and MF. Results: The 45-min Stroop task successfully induced a mental fatigue state. High ambient temperature was associated with an overall elevation in subjective mental fatigue levels, with a large main effect size ( Conclusion: No significant interaction was detected between ambient temperature and mental fatigue for agility performance, and the results were compatible with an independent additive pattern. For coordination, a significant Temperature × MF interaction effect was observed, whereby coordination performance was only significantly impaired when high ambient temperature and mental fatigue co-occurred. It is recommended to strictly manage athletes' cognitive load before matches in hot environments to reduce the risk of MF and maintain stable performance of specific physical qualities.