An examination of sports injuries and injury prevention in college tennis players:

focusing on the occurrence of sports injuries and conditioning attitudes that affect psychological competitive abilities

Abstract

    This study aimed to investigate awareness about conditioning and the occurrence of sports injuries in 31 male university tennis players, aiming to elucidate its impact on psychological competitive abilities (measured by DIPCA.3 and JPATEA).
(1) In male university tennis players, the most common injuries were wrist injuries, seen in 5 individuals (33.3％), followed by lumbar injuries in 4 individuals (20.0％), and ankle injuries in 2 individuals (13.3％), consistent with previous reports.
(2) Players with high CD awareness who did not experience sports injuries showed significantly higher values in psychological competitive abilities, including the fighting spirit scale of DIPCA.3, imagery, lifestyle management (J-PATEA), psychological skills, and competitive dedication.
(3) Players with low CD awareness who experienced sports injuries exhibited significantly higher values in psychological competitive abilities, such as fighting spirit (DIPCA.3), imagery, lifestyle management (J-PATEA), psychological skills, and competitive dedication. This suggests that even with high psychological competitive abilities, those with low CD awareness experienced injuries.
    These results indicate that efforts to prevent sports injuries in male university tennis players with high psychological competitive abilities are crucial. Additionally, there is a potential for improvement in psychological competitive abilities during the reconditioning process, even when awareness of conditioning is low and injuries have occurred.