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Introduction: This study aimed to explore the impact of COVID-19 on strength performance in highly trained athletes., Method: A force plate was employed to measure squat jump height (SJH), counter-movement jump height (CMJH), and drop jump reactive strength index (DJRSI) in 27 highly trained athletes before infection, and at one week, two weeks, and four weeks post-recovery. Additionally, an Isometric Mid-thigh Pull (IMTP) test was conducted to record maximum isometric strength (MIS) and the rate of force development of the initial phase (RFD 0-50; RFD 0-100). Repeated measures analysis of variance was utilized to compare variations in these indicators across different time points., Results: One week post-recovery, SJH (-7.71%, P = 0.005), CMJH (-9.08%, P < 0.001), DJRSI (-28.88%, P < 0.001), MIS (-18.95%, P < 0.001), RFD 0-50 (-64.98%, P < 0.001), and RFD 0-100 (-53.65%, P < 0.001) were significantly lower than pre-infection levels. Four weeks post-recovery, SJH (-2.08%, P = 0.236), CMJH (-3.28%, P = 0.277), and MIS (-3.32%, P = 0.174) did not differ significantly from pre-infection levels. However, DJRSI (-11.24%, P = 0.013), RFD 0-50 (-31.37%, P = 0.002), and RFD 0-100 (-18.99%, P = 0.001) remained significantly lower than pre-infection levels., Conclusion: After COVID-19, highly trained athletes exhibited a significant reduction in maximum strength, explosive strength, reactive strength, and initial phase force generation capability. By four weeks post-recovery, their maximum and explosive strength had returned to near pre-infection levels, yet their reactive strength and initial phase force generation capability remained significantly impaired., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Cao et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)