A multi-year injury epidemiology analysis of an elite national junior tennis program.

OBJECTIVES: To profile multi-year injury incidence and severity trends in elite junior tennis players from a national program. DESIGN: Prospective cohort. METHODS: Injury data was collated by sex, age and region for all nationally-supported Australian junior players (58m, 43f 13-18y) between 2012-2016. Injury was defined as a physical complaint from training/matchplay interrupting training/matchplay determined by presiding physiotherapists and doctors. Severity represented the days of interrupted training/matchplay per injury. Injury incidence was reported per 1000 exposure hours. Incidence rate change and rate ratios (RR) ±95% confidence intervals were used to assess changes over time. RESULTS: No difference in male and female injury incidence existed (2.7±0.0 v 2.8±0.0) yet male injuries were more severe (3.6±0.6 v 1.1±0.9 days). The lumbar spine was the most commonly and severely injured region in both sexes (4.3±0.2, 9.9±1.4d). Shoulder injuries were the second most common in both sexes (3.1±0.2) and with the second highest severity in males (7.3±1.4d). Knee injuries were also common in males (2.3±0.2) yet potentially reduced over time (0.4±0.6 RR) as pelvis/buttock injuries increased (3.4±14.0 RR). Females had high trunk and abdominal injury incidences (2.5±0.3). Independent of sex, the injury incidence increased with age from 2.0±0.1 (13y) to 2.9±0.1 (18y). CONCLUSIONS: Despite no sex-based difference in injury incidence, male injuries resulted in more interrupted days of training/matchplay. The lumbar spine and shoulder were the most commonly injured body regions in both sexes. The number of injuries sustained by players also increased as they aged.

Injury epidemiology of tennis players at the 2011-2016 Australian Open Grand Slam.

AIM: To examine the epidemiology and in-event treatment frequency of injury at the 2011-2016 Australian Open tournaments. METHODS: Injury incidence was defined as a medical consultation by a tournament physician and in-event treatment frequency as the mean total number of follow-up medical/physiotherapy consultations (2013-2016 tournaments only). Data were collated by sex, injury region and type and reported as frequencies per 10 000 game exposures. Incidence rate s± 95% CI and rate ratios were used to test effects for injury, sex and year. RESULTS: Female players experienced more injuries than male players (201.7 vs 148.6). The shoulder (5.1±1.1 injuries per year), foot (3.2±1.1), wrist (3.1±1.5) and knee (3.1±1.1) were the most commonly injured regions among females. Knee (3.5±1.6), ankle (2.3±1.3) and thigh (2.3±1.5) were the most prevalent male injuries. Upper arm injuries and in-event treatment frequency increased by ≥2.4 times in both sexes over the 5-year period. Muscle injuries were most frequent. There was a greater than twofold increase in men and women with stress fractures over the 5-year period. The torso region, including the neck, thoracic spine, trunk and abdominal, lumbar spine, hip and groin, pelvis/buttock, attracted high in-event treatment frequencies in both sexes. CONCLUSION: Investigation of injury at the Australian Open suggests that females are more commonly injured than males. Upper and lower extremity injuries affected females while lower limb injuries were more prominent in males. There was an increasing rate of in-event treatments of upper limb and torso injuries as well as stress fractures during the observation period.

Consensus statement on epidemiological studies of medical conditions in tennis, April 2009.

BACKGROUND: The reported incidence, severity and nature of injuries sustained in tennis vary considerably between studies. While some of these variations can be explained by differences in sample populations and conditions, the main reasons are related to differences in definitions and methodologies employed in the studies. OBJECTIVE: This statement aims to review existing consensus statements for injury surveillance in other sports in order to establish definitions, methods and reporting procedures that are applicable to the specific requirements of tennis. DESIGN: The International Tennis Federation facilitated a meeting of 11 experts from 7 countries representing a range of tennis stakeholders. Using a mixed methods consensus approach, key issues related to definitions, methodology and implementation were discussed and voted on by the group during a structured one-day meeting. Following this meeting, 2 members of the group collaborated to produce a draft statement, based on the group discussions and voting outcomes. Three revisions were prepared and circulated for comment before the final consensus statement was produced. RESULTS: A definition of medical conditions (injuries and illnesses) that should be recorded in tennis epidemiological studies and criteria for recording the severity and nature of these conditions are proposed. Suggestions are made for recording players' baseline information together with recommendations on how medical conditions sustained during match play and training should be reported. CONCLUSIONS: The definitions and methodology proposed for recording injuries and illnesses sustained during tennis activities will lead to more consistent and comparable data being collected. The surveillance procedures presented here may also be applicable to other racket sports.