| Injury Prevention |
Many of the injuries that occur in elite tennis players can be classified as “overuse” injuries. The repetitive demands placed upon the human body from countless hours of training and competition can gradually lead to muscle and/or tendon breakdown. As an example, serves and forehands make up 75% of all strokes during a typical match (Ellenbecker 2006). Couple this with the fact that players hit with incredible power from virtually everywhere on the court and it is easy to see how players could develop muscular imbalances that could ultimately lead to injury. There are a number of factors that can increase a player’s risk of injury, including overtraining; insufficient strength, power and/or endurance; inflexibility; poor aerobic fitness level; incorrect technique and unsuitable equipment.
Tennis injuries can be prevented by selecting the right equipment, warming up and cooling down properly, stretching before and after playing, regular sports massage and good nutrition, as well as conditioning or strengthening yourself to play the game. This module has been structured to give you help in trying to prevent injury so you can get the maximum out of your junior tennis career. We hope you find it useful.
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