Tennis is one of the most popular racquets sports around the world. Given the significant forces on the body harnessed in hitting a tennis ball, injuries to both the upper and lower extremity may occur.
Most of these injuries are overuse injuries, due to the repetitive high forces generated by the tennis swing. The most common upper extremity overuse injuries are rotator cuff syndromes like rotator cuff tendonitis and rotator cuff tears as well as elbow tendonitis usually on the outside of the elbow called “tennis elbow”.
The most common overuse injuries to the lower extremity are hip flexor tendonitis, iliotibial band tendonitis, patella tendonitis and Achilles tendonitis. Problems with the lower back including low back strains, disc problems, and stress fractures are also commonly seen in tennis players.
Occasionally, traumatic injuries to the lower extremity such as ankle sprains and fractures, knee ligament tears or meniscus tears, and hip muscle tears and labral tears may occur in tennis players.
Common Tennis Injuries
Ankle: Achilles tendonitis | Plantar fasciitis |Sprains
Back: Strain | Herniated disc
Elbow: Medial epicondylitis | Lateral epicondylitis (tennis elbow) | Bicep tendonitis
Hip: Iliotibial band tendonitis | Labral tears
Knee: Patella tendonitis | Patella femoral pain | ACL & MCL ligament tears | Meniscus tears
Shoulder: Bicep tendonitis | Rotator Cuff Tear |Rotator Cuff Tendonitis