OBJECTIVE

To analyze the patterns and causes of tennis-related injuries using, for the first time, a nationally representative data set.

DESIGN

A retrospective cohort analysis was performed using the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System database.

SETTING

All tennis-related injuries treated in US emergency departments (EDs) from 1990 to 2011 were analyzed.

PATIENTS

During the study period, an estimated 492,002 (95% confidence interval, 364,668-619,336) individuals, aged 5 to 94 years, presented to US EDs for tennis-related injuries.

ASSESSMENT OF RISK FACTORS

Independent variables included patient age and gender, mechanism of injury, and location of injury event.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Outcome variables included injury diagnosis, body region injured, disposition from ED, and involvement of the net.

RESULTS

Most injuries were sustained by a nonspecific mechanism during play (37.9%) and occurred at a sport or recreation facility (83.4%). Children aged 5 to 18 years had a higher mean injury rate than adults older than 19 years. The most commonly injured body regions were the lower extremities (42.2%) and upper extremities (26.7%). Sprains or strains (44.1%) were the most common type of injury. The number of tennis-related injuries decreased by 41.4% during the years 1990 to 2011, and the tennis-related injury rates decreased by more than 45% during the study period. Among the 3.4% of patients who were admitted to the hospital, two-thirds (65.6%) involved patients 56 years of age or older.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite the decrease in tennis-related injuries, the growing popularity of this sport warrants increased efforts to prevent injuries, especially among child and older adult participants.