To Play Tennis While Injured, Or Not To Play. That Is The Question.

If you play competitive tennis or league tennis competitively, you will suffer at least one injury. The most common are muscle pulls and tears, tendonitis, and sprains. Some injuries you can play through, and some are so painful that you can barely stand. But maybe your team is at risk of moving down a level and can’t afford to forfeit a line. Maybe your team wants to move up a level and needs the points.

So… do you play tennis while injured?

The obvious answer is that to recover from an injury, you should take a break and rest your body. However, depending on the nature of your injury – AS DETERMINED BY YOUR DOCTOR – it is possible for you to continue playing for a short time and rest the injury later.

If you play tennis injured, you’ll have a new perspective on your game. You can’t rely on the same game plan because the injury might not allow you to execute your shots the same way. The tennis match becomes more of a thinking game, and your brain becomes your strongest weapon.

My story:

About eight years ago, I developed a bucket tear to my meniscus mid-season. It sucked, but I went ahead and finished out the season because

• the team (me included) wanted to move up to the next level and couldn’t do it without me
• an MRI determined my injury required surgery and that I wouldn’t cause any further damage by continuing to play
• though I couldn’t move as well, I still had most of my weapons and a great partner who picked up the slack
• Celebrex, Celebrex, Celebrex.

For me, playing through the injury was worth it because we made the points to move up. The day after the last match, I went into surgery and had my meniscus repaired. And I am now back on the courts, stronger than ever!

What to do if you decide to play

Depending on the injury, you can successfully play tennis when injured. Of course, this is assuming it doesn’t severely impact your movement or stroke production. And if this is what you decide on doing, and your doctor has given you the green light, these are some tips to help you survive on the court – and hopefully win:

• Take an anti-inflammatory 30 minutes before your match and wear appropriate wraps/braces during the match.
• Only play matches that you think you can win. If not, why bother with the pain and risk of further injury?
• Figure out your opponent’s weaknesses during the warm-up, and attack them mercilessly. I say this because if and when they figure out you’re injured, that’s exactly what they’ll do to you.
• In doubles, have your partner play more aggressively at the net. Poaching can help shorten points and get you off the court sooner.
• Hit deep approach shots, preferably up the middle, to cut down the angle of their return and come to the net.
• If your opponent serves and volleys and rushes the net – lob and make them go back for the ball. In doubles, lob over the player at the net and have your partner move back behind the service line. This is in case they return with a lob.
• Focus on big points and take advantage of every opportunity.
• Immediately after the match, apply an ice pack to the injury.

Whether you win, lose, or don’t finish the match, please… take care of your injury. At some point, you’ll be faced with the decision to take enough time off to recover fully. Only you can decide when the right time will be. Just know that continuing to play (depending on the injury) could make things worse.

Listen to your body and remember – it’s only a game.