American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine 1

Abstract: Playing tennis effectively and safely in the heat can be particu-larly challenging in junior tennis, espe-cially during organized tournament competition when young players have to compete in demanding environmen-tal conditions several times on the same day. With sweat rates ranging from 0.5 L to more than 2.0 L per hour, a young player can readily incur significant total body water and sodium deficits during a very long match or when par-ticipating in multiple matches on the same day over several days in a row. On-court thermal strain can be quite high, as tournament-level tennis can elicit appreciable metabolic heat pro-duction and storage, even during dou-bles; this can be exacerbated by poor hydration as well as carryover effects from previous same-day competition and heat exposure. Appropriate and effective safety and performance guide-lines for young tennis players train-ing and competing in the heat should focus on readily modifiable risk factors such as hydration management and scheduling of play versus any purported inherent thermoregulatory disadvan-tages in this specific age group