Therapist: What are the most common injuries you see when coaching?

Jim: “The most common injury I’ve seen is related to the Achilles area, due to the action reaction needed to change directions. There are also general muscle tears and overuse injuries which tend to be related to not warming up properly.”

Ben: “Most common injuries are to the shoulder and elbow region.” Ben had suffered a shoulder labrum problem, which led to an unstable shoulder. The injury occurred due to poor scapula strength. Tennis elbow was another frustrating injury to get rid of. A change in racket weight and to a softer string reduced the injury symptoms, as well as a rehabilitation programme. Ben says “my injuries were due to a combination of poor scapula posture, over use and incorrect equipment which was caught too late, now I see prevention is better than the cure.”

Therapist: What are the most common technical errors you see?

Jim: “One common problem is related to over gripping. If the handle is too small, it requires the forearm muscles to exert more force, which can lead to tennis elbow.”

Ben: “Some players over exaggerate their grip.”

Jim: “Wrist injuries can happen due to flicking the wrist when returning shots (although some shots require it); the swing should be one smooth movement using the whole arm (low to high). There are various grips for different shots using the correct one will reduce your chances of injury, when serving the chopper grip is best used.”

Ben: “Some coaches say not to flick the wrist but it’s virtually impossible as the wrist flicks as a follow through, it is important to strengthen the wrists.”

 Jim: “Positioning and timing in tennis is vital; it is something that is hard to teach due to the pace of the game.

Ben: “Poor positioning can lead to injury but it’s too hard to control, you are either to slow for the shot and miss or hit it too late.”

 Jim: “Tennis elbow can be caused by a faulty backhand technique; if your elbow leads your racket you are vulnerable to injury. This faulty technique causes the shoulder to abduct rather than externally rotate and is common amongst adult players.”

Ben: “Don’t lead shots with the elbow as you tend to slap the racket with your wrist”

 Jim: Having the right shoes is vital; tennis shoes are built up on either side of the ankle to protect from ligament sprains. Tennis involves a lot of lateral (sideways) movement which leaves the ankle open to injury.  

Ben: Ankles are always prone to injury due to the impact, sliding to reach shots, and stopping suddenly. It’s not so much a technical fault it’s the design of the game. Some players will wear ankle supports to prevent injury.” 

Ben: When serving its important to be side on, instead of front on. This allows you to use your core and leg strength and follow through shots with a better posture. Also use an open stance, don’t let the leg cross over the midline of the body, even professionals with a back hand shot are using an open stance more.”

Therapist: What injury prevention do you include in your sessions?

Jim: “When coaching children we use low compression balls which reduces the height of the bounce. There are three levels red/orange and green.

Jim: “Also children are taught to use a two handed backhand, many females also tend to use this technique as the shot requires great muscle force and if only done with one hand can lead to injury.

Ben: “The one hand backhand has a longer reach but it is rarely used the two hand backhand can create more power in the shot.

Jim: “I include sport specific stretches; lack of flexibility can lead to injury. The older athlete may develop back pain due to progressive stiffness. Areas of previous injury are susceptible to further injury as they become less mobile; scar tissue is not as mobile as muscle tissue it needs to be stretched to keep its length.

Ben: “I always point out the importance of the warm-up, cool-down, flexibility and core stability. There is also specific strengthening to the shoulder, elbow and wrist.” I myself and many other athletes will use heat on vulnerable areas before play to loosen and prepare and ice after to let the areas recover.”