Tennis is a rather peculiar sport. The nature of the sport involves making powerful shots, returning powerful shots, and sprinting across the court to get the ball. It emphasizes the use of the arm muscles and this can be very taxing on the arm. And yes, it’s not football but people do get injured in tennis. Here are the top five most common injuries among tennis players.
1. Tennis Elbow
2. Golfers Elbow
3. Rotator Cuff Injuries
4. Stomach stretch
5. Ankle Sprains
Let’s dive in
1. TENNIS ELBOW
In medical lingo, it’s called lateral epicondylitis, an inflammation in the lateral epicondyle. It presents as pain on the outside of the elbow. It’s named tennis elbow because it’s prevalent among tennis players. Because tennis players require a lot of wrist movement, it pulls on the muscles on the outside of the forearm which are attached to the outside of the elbow; the lateral epicondyle. Continuous use and stretching of these muscles and their pull on the lateral epicondyle is what results in the pain on the outer elbow called tennis elbow or lateral epicondylitis. Tennis players of all ages can get tennis elbow and even people who don’t play tennis. People whose work requires a lot of repetitive wrist movement or players of other sports involving the use of a racquet such as badminton are also at risk. It’s relatively not a very serious injury and can be easily remedied by using an anti-inflammation medication, rest, physiotherapy, and fixing the bad form. Venus Williams, Andy Murray, and Victoria Wozniak have all suffered from tennis elbow.
2. GOLFERS ELBOW
It’s quite similar to tennis elbow, but here the pain is on the inside of the elbow. Like tennis elbow, proper rest, painkillers, massage, and physical therapy can remedy it.
3. ROTATOR CUFF INJURIES
These are injuries to the muscles of the shoulder. Those powerful serves that tennis players make put a massive strain on the shoulder and can eventually result in muscle injury, specifically called rotator cuff injuries. A shoulder injury caused Novak Djokovic to pull out of the US Open in 2019. The world no. 1 said the pain was unbearable at some point eventually leading him to pull out of the competition after the second round. Stretching and strengthening the rotator cuff muscles are very important in preventing rotator cuff injuries.
4. ABDOMINAL STRETCH
This injury is not exclusive to tennis but is by far more common in tennis than in any other sport. It presents as pain in the abdominal muscles due to overstretching brought on by the peculiar movements required in tennis. Proper physiotherapy and core strengthening exercises are pivotal in preventing these kinds of injuries. Rafael Nadal suffered an abdominal tear in the Wimbledon Championships in 2022 and an abdominal strain caused Andy Murray to withdraw from the Cincinnati Open in 2023.
5. ANKLE SPRAINS
It’s quite easy and common to sprain an ankle in tennis because of the sudden side-to-side movements that put a strain on the ankle ligaments. It is the most common tennis injury although it is not exclusive to tennis players. Ankle sprains can be serious enough to keep a player off the court for months. It usually presents as pain and instability of the ankle joint. Alexander Zverev missed the US Open due to an ankle injury in 2022. Proper care and physiotherapy are essential to remedying ankle sprains and ensuring a quick return to the court.
In general, injuries are common in every sport and players may not always be able to prevent them. Injuries are the dark side of sports that we don’t like because they stop a player from playing and some can be serious enough to derail entire careers or force a player into retirement.