Men’s Tennis Injuries Are Spiking. Is It Part of a Broader Sports Trend? – Sportico

                        By  <a class="c-link  lrv-a-unstyle-link" href="https://www.sportico.com/author/lev-akabas/"             >   Lev Akabas</a>                      <br>Data Reporter<br>   A number of sports leagues face the same issue: Modern playing styles that put increased physical demands on athletes&rsquo; bodies are contributing to an increase in injuries.<br>    The average NBA star player in the 2020s <a  rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow"  target="_blank"  href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/39318248/nba-65-game-rule-affect-mvp-race-supermax-deals"  >misses</a> more than a quarter of each season, nearly twice the number of missed games as the 2000s, when there were roughly 10 fewer possessions per game than today&rsquo;s &ldquo;pace and space&rdquo; era. Nearly 40% of all MLB pitchers who played in 2024 have undergone Tommy John surgery (UCL reconstruction), up from 27% in 2016, as throwing velocities and spin rates have increased.<br>  Tennis might be next.  <br>     There have been 37 instances on the 2025 <a  href="https://www.sportico.com/t/atp-tour/"  id="auto-tag_atp-tour_1"  data-tag="atp-tour"  >ATP Tour</a> of a player retiring during a match or withdrawing mid-tournament prior to a match, accounting for about 6% of all matchups. That equals the highest number at this point in the tennis calendar over the past 20 years and 50% higher than the annual average of 23.8.    <div class="admz" id="adm-inline-article-ad-1">                     <div class="adma boomerang" data-device="Desktop" data-width="300">                  <div style="min-width:300px;min-height:275px;"     class="pmc-adm-boomerang-pub-div ad-text"   data-priority="10" >    <div id="gpt-sprt-dsk-tab-midarticle-uid0"      class="adw-300 adh-250" data-is-adhesion-ad="">         <script type="application/javascript">

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