In order to maximize sports performance of team sportswomen, knowledge of the
player’s characteristics in terms of different aspects and at different times of the season is needed.
While the anthropometric and physical characteristics of men’s sports teams have been extensively
studied, research on women’s basketball and volleyball is scarce. (1) Purpose: This study aims
to contribute data about the anthropometric and physical characteristics of female basketball
and volleyball players from elite women’s teams (age: 24.3 ± 2.7 years; playing experience:
14.825 ± 2.8 years) (n = 23) with a two-fold objective: (1) to describe and compare the anthropometric characteristics of these two disciplines; and (2) to identify possible differences in various
parameters of sports performance depending on the discipline. (2) Methods: The anthropometric
profile includes the measurements recommended by the International Society for the Advancement
of Kinanthropometry; the performance tests described aerobic and anaerobic power exercises.
(3) Results: The overall somatotype of the players was moderate mesomorphic and low endomorphic (5.107–3.046–1.883). Statistical differences were found between the improvement of
the physical performance level of female basketball players (77%) and female volleyball players
(10%) from the first to the last measurement, with better results in most of the performance tests
(p < 0.05). The sum of skinfolds was higher in female basketball players (p > 0.05). The percentage
of fat-free mass correlated with improvements in lower body strength. (4) Conclusion: Lean body
mass is an important predictor of exercise performance intensity. Excess fat mass is detrimental to
the development of strength and endurance.
