Retirements of professional tennis players in second- and third-tier tournaments on the ATP and WTA tours.

The demands of professional tennis, including physical and psychological aspects, contribute to the frequency of retirements at elite levels of the sport. The aim of this study was to analyze epidemiological patterns and risk factors associated with retirements in previous ATP and WTA Tour tournaments. A retrospective cohort study was conducted. This study focused on previous ATP and WTA Tour tournaments. The ATP database encompassed 584,806 matches, while the WTA database included 267,380 matches. To assess retirements, potential risk factors such as playing surface, tournament category, match round, and player age were analyzed. Incidence rates were calculated for the period between 1978-2019 for men and 1994-2018 for women. The overall incidence rate was 1.56 (95%CI: 1.54, 1.59) and 1.36 (95%CI: 1.33, 1.39) retirements per 1000 games played in male and female competitions, respectively. Retirements increased over the years. Higher incidence rates were observed on hard (1.59 [95%CI: 1.56, 1.63] and 1.39 [95%CI: 1.34, 1.44]) and clay (1.60 [95%CI: 1.57, 1.63] and 1.36 [95%CI: 1.32, 1.41]) compared to grass courts (0.79 [95%CI: 0.65, 0.94] and 1.06 [95%CI: 0.88, 1.27]). Risk factors differed by gender, with tournament category significant in males (IRR: 1.23 [95%CI: 1.19, 1.28] in ITF vs ATP) and match round in females (IRR: 0.92 [95%CI: 0.88, 0.98] in preliminary vs final). This study provides valuable insights for coaches, players, support teams, and epidemiologists regarding retirements and associated risk factors in previous ATP and WTA Tour tournaments, contributing to injury prevention strategies.

Comparison of the finishing shot and ending zone of points in Grand Slam matches of women's doubles tennis: A cross-sectional study.

Despite the importance of doubles tennis, there is little research on this modality of the game, especially in women's tennis. The aim of this study was to analyse the finishing shot, the ending zone and shot by ending zone of women´s doubles matches during three Grand Slams (GS), and to observe the differences among surfaces. Twenty-one women's doubles matches from three GS, each played on a different surface were analysed. 56.4 ± 2.3% of the points were finished from the baseline and mid court zone (BMZ), 36.1 ± 2.3% from the net zone (NZ) and 7.5 ± 4.2% from the service zone (SZ). The shot with which the points ended primarily was the forehand volley (FV) (18.2 ± 3.5%), followed by the forehand (F) (17.4 ± 4.2%), the backhand (B) (15.8 ± 4.8%), the backhand volley (BV) (12.8 ± 3.6%), the forehand return (FRT) (11.7 ± 2.7%), the backhand return (BRT) (11.4 ± 2.6%), the service (S) (7.5 ± 4.2%) and the overhead (O) (5.2 ± 3.0%). The results showed a higher percentage of F played from the BMZ in Roland Garros (RG) than in Wimbledon (W) (p = 0.011). In addition, the results also showed a higher percentage in overall F in RG than in W (p = 0.023). The FRT percentage was higher in the Australian Open (AUS) compared to RG (p = 0.026), and the O shots played from the BMZ were higher in W than RG (p = 0.038). These results suggest that in professional women's doubles tennis the net game is a determinant factor, as well as the volley (V) and F shots. Playing aggressive and close to the net may have a positive effect on the result.

Quantifying Hitting Load in Racket Sports: A Scoping Review of Key Technologies.

PURPOSE: This scoping review aims to identify the primary racket and arm-mounted technologies based on inertial measurement units that enable the quantification of hitting load in racket sports. METHODS: A comprehensive search of several databases (PubMed, SPORTDiscus, Web of Science, and IEEE Xplore) and Google search engines was conducted following the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) extension for scoping reviews guidelines. Included records primarily focused on monitoring hitting load in racket sports using commercialized racket or arm-mounted inertial sensors through noncompetitive and competitive racket-sports players. RESULTS: A total of 484 records were identified, and 19 finally met the inclusion criteria. The largest number of systems found were compatible with tennis (n = 11), followed by badminton (n = 4), table tennis (n = 2), padel (n = 1), and squash (n = 1). Four sensor locations were identified: grip-attached (n = 8), grip-embedded (n = 6), wrist (n = 3), and dampener sensors (n = 2). Among the tennis sensors, only 4 out of the 11 (36.4%) demonstrated excellent reliability (>.85) in monitoring the number of shots hit either during analytic drills or during simulated matches. None of the other racket-sports sensors have undergone successful, reliable validation for hitting-volume quantification. CONCLUSIONS: Despite recent advancements in this field, the quantification of hitting volume in racket sports remains a challenge, with only a limited number of tennis devices demonstrating reliable results. Thus, further progress in technology and research is essential to develop comprehensive solutions that adequately address these specific requirements.

Scoping review and quality of studies on the epidemiology of pickleball injuries

Pickleball is a sport that combines several elements of tennis, badminton and table tennis. It is played on a court similar to the badminton court and the objective of the game is to hit the ball over a net similar to the tennis net. During these years, its popularity has grown substantially in the United States of America and it has been a sport played by people of different ages. It is important to know the different injuries that can occur in this sport in order to prevent and treat them. The aim is to perform a scoping review following the PRISMA-SCR guidelines to identify the main health problems and injury characteristics suffered in pickleball athletes. A total of 4 articles from different databases were found based on the keywords and boolean operators: ("Pickleball") AND ("injury" OR "injuries" OR "pathology*" OR "illness*" OR " disease*"). The most common injuries that occur are sprains and strains, and they tend to belong to the old age. However, more epidemiological studies about pickleball injuries are needed. Few studies have been found where the data sources show limitations to subsequently be able to carry out epidemiological studies with more precision. Even so, the scientific evidence is limited to provide applicable and conclusive results and more studies are needed on this topic in pickleball. (AU)