The Effect of Mental and Muscular Fatigue on Motor Learning, Motor Control, and Skill Performance Accuracy among Junior Badminton Players: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to investigate the effects of mental and muscular fatigue on motor learning, motor control, and skill performance accuracy in badminton players, with a focus on junior athletes. The review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines and a search strategy was developed to find studies from January 2020 to March 2026 in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. Results: A total of 26 studies were included in the qualitative synthesis and quantitative meta-analysis based on the pre-specified eligibility criteria. Pooled effect sizes were calculated using Hedges' g with a random-effects model. The meta-analysis showed that fatigue led to a moderate decrease in motor performance (Hedges' g = −0.58, 95% CI: −0.71 to −0.45). Muscular fatigue had a larger pooled effect (Hedges' g = −0.66) than mental fatigue (Hedges' g = −0.49), and combined fatigue produced the largest performance decline (Hedges' g = −0.74). The greatest impairments were observed in performance accuracy and reaction time, and subgroup analyses suggested that junior athletes may be more susceptible to performance decrements induced by fatigue than adults. The results highlight the significance of fatigue monitoring and management for optimal badminton performance.