Table 4. Risk factors associated with the incidence of musculoskeletal injuries.
| Risk factor |
Injured |
Uninjured |
RR |
95% CI |
p |
| Internal risk factors |
Age |
21.9 2 3.3 |
22.0 2 4.3 |
– |
– |
0.92 |
| Height (cm) |
178.1 1 8.0 |
173.5 1 9.0 |
– |
– |
0.01 |
| Weight (kg) |
71.8 7 9.5 |
67.9 6 10.5 |
– |
– |
0.06 |
| Tennis experience |
15 (8–23) |
15 (6–31) |
– |
– |
0.79 |
| ITF singles ranking |
> 742* |
11 (11.5) |
85 (88.5) |
1.3 |
1.1 – 1.5 |
0.004 |
| < 742 |
20 (30.8) |
45 (69.2) |
| Gender |
Female |
11 (15.5) |
60 (84.5) |
1.4 |
0.7 – 2.8 |
0.280 |
| Male |
20 (22.2) |
70 (77.8) |
| Previous injury |
Absent |
4 (3.6) |
107 (96.4) |
2.1 |
1.5 – 2.8 |
<0.001 |
| Present |
27 (54.0) |
23 (46.0) |
External risk factor
WBGT zone |
Zone 4 |
8 (10.8) |
66 (89.2) |
1.2 |
1.0 – 1.4 |
0.02 |
| Zone 5 |
23 (26.4) |
64 (73.6) |
Inciting event
Round of match |
Qualifying |
6 (11.5) |
46 (88.5) |
1.2 |
1.0 – 1.3 |
0.09 |
| Main round |
25 (22.9) |
84 (77.1) |
| Match load |
Singles |
7 (11.9) |
52 (88.1) |
1.2 |
1.0 – 1.3 |
0.09 |
| Singles + doubles |
24 (23.5) |
78 (76.5) |
RR: relative risk; CI: confidence interval; * includes 31 athletes with no ITF rank.
