A New Study on the Positive Health Impacts of Tennis

Tennis News You Can Use

Tennis players who pay any attention to current news are inundated with frequent articles touting the health benefits of playing the sport. The fact that tennis players have more positive health measures is backed up by reputable independent research data. A couple of weeks ago, the USTA issued a press release that illustrates that point. It pointed to “one of the largest tennis-specific studies performed to date.” Today we are taking a look at the report summarizing that research.

“Improved General Health Outcomes in US Recreational Tennis Players” was published in the July 2020 edition of the Journal of Medicine and Science in Tennis. As an aside, the fact that this publication exists had somehow previously escaped my attention. An alternate headline of this post could just as easily been “Wow, there is a tennis specific medical journal in active publication.” My personal journey of discovery continues.

The research was based on responses to a survey that was sent to active USTA League Players. The basis of the survey is an instrument developed by the Rand Corporation known as the Short Form 36. (SF-36) There are… wait for it… 36 questions on that survey. The SF-36 instrument measures health outcomes across several dimensions including physical functioning, bodily pain, general health, social functioning, and mental health.

The advantage of using the SF-36 for this study is that the responses from the USTA players can be compared with results from the general US population collected by other researchers. In this study of USTA League Players, Tennis specific information was augmented to the survey. The additional information collected included things like age, smoking status, body mass index (BMI), and gender.

The USTA League survey also collected “self-reported tennis ability” by having each respondent provide their NTRP score. For the purpose of this study an “elite tennis player” was defined to be anyone with a self-reported NTRP of 4.0 or higher. For those of you tracking this at home, that would mean that I am elite and the Fiend at Court Spousal Unit is not. For the record, even at my current 5.0 NTRP level, I do not consider myself to be elite.

The additional tennis demographic data collected enables the analysis of how tennis players stack up health wise with the general population. Additionally, it enables various groups of tennis players to be compared with each other. That part of the analysis is much more interesting to me than yet another study showing that playing tennis is healthy.

The authors of the research report indicated that the survey was sent to all active USTA League players. A precise number was provided: 312,447. That is consistent with the USTA round numbers generally provided that indicate that 300,000+ members participate in USTA Leagues.

The following frequency of play distribution was gleaned directly from the research. 2-3 occasions per week is by far the most common frequency of play among USTA League Players who responded to the survey. The Fiend at Court household runs on the 6-7 end of the spectrum.

**Self-Reported Weekly Frequency of Play**

The USTA does not publish NTRP distribution data, but the research report summarized the self-reported NTRP levels from the survey respondents. That probably represents a reasonable approximation of the general USTA population.

Of the 312,447 surveys distributed, only 10,380 responded. I believe that I was one of the respondents, but am not 100% certain. I have a vague recollection of submitting health data to a tennis related survey in the distant past. However, I also have to regularly submit a modified SF-36 as a part of my corporate medical health program. That adds a little fog to my memory of whether I did a tennis specific one at some point in time.

By far one of the most interesting things about this study is that it produced data that makes it possible to stratify tennis players based on frequency of play and skill level. The tennis athletes who played more frequently had higher health scores across all dimensions scored against an SF-36. It is tempting to draw the conclusion that more frequent play leads to better health outcomes. However, it is possible that avid tennis players are able to play more frequently because they have higher health characteristics.

Players with higher NTRP levels had higher physical functioning scores and lower BMI than other tennis players at the lower tiers. That makes total sense because general fitness is helpful for competing in tennis. (That is also a perfect example of the hard-hitting insight the Fiend at Court brings to the table.)

Like so many similar studies, the results of “Improved General Health Outcomes in US Recreational Tennis Players” study has been reduced to repetitive sound bites when referenced in the tennis media. Tennis players are healthier than the general population. Yada, yada, yada. The details revealed in the study are way more interesting.