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Health benefits for veteran (senior) tennis players
1Department of Exercise and Sport Science, Fetzer Gym, Campus Box 8700, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-8700, USA. marks@email.unc.edu
British Journal of Sports Medicine
|April 25, 2006
Summary
Tennis participation offers significant health benefits for veteran players, including improved aerobic capacity and strength. Further research is needed to confirm tennis as the sole contributor to these positive physiological changes.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Sports Medicine
- Exercise Physiology
Background:
- Regular moderate-intensity aerobic activity is well-documented for its health benefits.
- Research on veteran tennis players exists but is predominantly cross-sectional.
- Confounding effects from cross-training in previous studies remain a challenge.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the health benefits of tennis participation in veteran players.
- To identify future research needs in the area of tennis and aging.
Main Methods:
- An extensive literature search was conducted using Ovid (Cinhal, Medline, Sport Discus) databases (1966-2005).
- Specific keywords related to tennis, aging, exercise, health, and psychophysiological systems were used.
- Public internet search engines (Google, PubMed) and non-electronic searches were also employed.
Main Results:
- Veteran tennis players exhibit enhanced aerobic capacity compared to less active controls.
- Greater bone densities in specific regions, reduced body fat, and maintained reaction times were observed.
- Improvements in strength were noted in veteran tennis players.
Conclusions:
- Tennis participation appears to contribute positively to the health of veteran players.
- Further well-controlled longitudinal research is required to isolate tennis's specific contribution.
- Future studies should include both elite and novice older adult tennis players.
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