Grand slam: common injuries on the road to Wimbledon glory

While the history of lawn tennis is truly ingrained in Wimbledon, the evolution of the sport from a gentle afternoon activity for the gentry to the fast, intense, physically demanding game played now is worlds apart. Today, tennis players are reaching more than 10,000 competitive games in a career. And these games aren’t exactly short — the title for the longest match at Wimbledon goes to Isner and Mahut in 2010, which lasted for 11 hours and 5 minutes.

Unsurprisingly, playing tennis is heavy on the joints. As a high impact sport, injuries from tennis are common and many players are juggling more than one injury at any one time. Wimbledon is still the only Grand Slam tennis tournament that is played completely on grass court surface. The grass court surface allows for faster play with a lower ball bounce and shorter point duration and this has an influence injury patterns. Knee, elbow, shoulder, lumbar back, groin and ankle muscle injuries are all common, and have been for the last 10 years at Wimbledon.

Sustaining an injury from playing tennis can be incredibly frustrating, and it can happen to anyone who plays the sport ­– from casual weekend players to Wimbledon champions. For top players, an injury can mean retirement. Things weren’t looking good for Andy Murray last year, who underwent a hip resurfacing procedure this year to treat the debilitating hip pain threatening his career.

Just five months following Murray’s hip surgery, he has instead made an incredible comeback, winning doubles at the Queen’s Club championships. He may have just been knocked out, but he made it to Wimbledon too, which no-one counted on.

As we celebrate Andy Murray’s well-paced return, we look back at his and other players’ career-defining tennis injuries, and King Edward VII’s Hospital’s Orthopaedic Clinical Nurse Specialist, Desmond Runganga, explains the procedures that helped them make their comeback to the sport.

Andy Murray

• Professional tennis debut: 2005
• Singles Grand Slam titles: 3
• Wimbledon titles: 2

Having played tennis pretty much since infancy, Murray became the first British male Wimbledon Champion from the British Isles in 77 years in 2013, and he’s had a solid career since.

Andy’s problems became more pronounced during the 2017 US Open, and he was forced to pull out due to the severity of his hip pain. Murray underwent back surgery in 2013, followed by hip surgery in 2017 and the hip resurfacing procedure this year to treat his chronic hip pain.

Thanks to how it is performed, the more recent hip resurfacing procedure will have given Murray greater flexibility and motion in his hip — very important to any professional athlete.

“One of the main features of hip resurfacing is that it allows both the femoral head and neck to be retained, which are removed altogether in traditional hip replacements,” explains Desmond Runganga, King Edward VII’s Hospital’s Orthopaedic Clinical Nurse Specialist. “This can provide better functional outcomes for people who expect or hope to return to high levels of physical activity, like tennis and like Murray.”

As with any surgery however, this kind of operation isn’t a decision that should be rushed. Murray’s recovery has certainly been steady and well thought-out and he had a professional team behind him.

Bob Bryan

• Professional tennis debut: 1998
• Doubles Grand Slam titles: 23
• Wimbledon titles: 4

US tennis doubles giant Bob Bryan is one half of the Bryan brothers — two record-breaking siblings who turned a lifelong passion for tennis into a profession that has seen them triumph at the US Open, Wimbledon and plenty of other tournaments besides.

Injury was not uncommon for either brother, but like Murray, Bob Bryan didn’t let hip pain defeat him. Following injury that saw him withdraw from tennis, he underwent hip implant surgery and the doubles pair are both back on the courts once more.

Rafael Nadal

• Professional tennis debut: 2001
• Singles Grand Slam titles: 18
• Wimbledon titles: 2

Rafael “Rafa” Nadal, clay-court master and the only player to date to win three consecutive Grand Slam tournaments on clay, grass and hardcourt, has had several years of foot and ankle problems. His style of play is one of the most physically demanding there is, and he’s had to withdraw from several tournaments due to injury throughout his career so far as a result.

After withdrawing from the ATP World Tour Finals in 2018, he took the time to undergo ankle surgery to resolve a chronic issue and get himself back to the court fighting fit. And now, after winning the French Open again this year, Nadal is after a third Wimbledon title.

“For an injury like this, Nadal might have had an ankle arthroscopy. Arthroscopy, also referred to as keyhole, is a minimally invasive surgical procedure in which a small telescope is inserted into the ankle joint to evaluate and treat a variety of conditions. Advantages are smaller incisions, minimal soft tissue trauma, less pain, early mobilisation and quicker recovery,” says Desmond. “Realistically, patients can begin to build up their activity from two weeks after surgery, but it will probably take at least four weeks before more vigorous sporting activity are possible.”

Roger Federer

• Professional tennis debut: 1998
• Singles Grand Slam titles: 20
• Wimbledon titles: 8

Federer has enjoyed a glittering career so far since making his professional tennis debut at 17 years old. No other player in history has reached the Wimbledon final as many times as has Roger Federer. He’s gone on to win eight times and he also holds the title for the most major titles won.

Federer’s form has stayed remarkably resilient during his career, but all that changed in 2016 after his defeat against Djokovic in the Australian Open. He underwent knee surgery that year to repair a torn meniscus. “There are two options to repair a torn meniscus: trimming and suturing,” explains Desmond. “Trimming has a shorter recovery time, and people who undergo this procedure are generally back on their feet sooner.”

He’s since made a brilliant comeback. Long time rival of Nadal, Federer will no doubt be looking to maintain his upper hand on grass at Wimbledon this year.

Novak Djokovic

• Professional tennis debut: 2003
• Singles Grand Slam titles: 15
• Wimbledon titles: 4

Djokovic is currently ranked No. 1 in men’s singles tennis by the ATP and is not far behind Nadal and Federer in terms of the number of Grand Slam titles won. He’s won Wimbledon four times, and is regarded as one of the best hardcourt tennis players in history.

Battling more than one injury, he had elbow surgery in 2018 and took time out of the game to recover. He’s back and seeded first at Wimbledon this year.

“It’s possible that Djokovic underwent an elbow arthroscopy,” says Desmond. “This is a common procedure recommended for removal of loose pieces of bone and cartilage or to release scar tissue that is blocking motion.”

Serena Williams

• Professional tennis debut: 1995
• Singles Grand Slam titles: 23
• Wimbledon titles: 7

One of tennis’ biggest stars and regarded as one of the best female tennis players of all time, Serena Williams holds seven Wimbledon titles — three of which she won defeating her sister, tennis player Venus Williams.

A powerful player, Williams has battled knee problems that have lingered throughout her career and she underwent surgery to repair a partial tear in her left knee back in 2003. She has had to pull out of tournaments more recently to rehabilitate, ahead of Wimbledon. “Like Nadal, Williams had an arthroscopy procedure, but hers was on the knee. This is a minimally invasive procedure and it has a relatively short recovery time, but it is still important to rest and rehabilitate prior to undertaking any major physical activities,” Desmond stresses.

Maria Sharapova

• Professional tennis debut: 2001
• Singles Grand Slam titles: 5
• Wimbledon titles: 1

Russian player Maria Sharapova, won her first and only Wimbledon title in 2004, by defeating and upsetting defending champion at the time, Serena Williams.

Sharapova recently underwent a procedure to help resolve a lingering shoulder injury. Taking the smart decision to allow herself time to properly heal, it has meant some time out from the sport and she didn’t make it to Roland Garros this year, where she’s won twice.

“Sharapova had developed a labral tear of the shoulder, which is an injury that is common in racquet sports, like tennis, and is also seen in throwing sports, like cricket, swimming and more. The labrum is a piece of fibrocartilage (rubbery tissue) attached to the rim of the shoulder socket that helps keep the ball of the joint in place. A labral tear of the shoulder typically occurs suddenly due to a high force going through the labrum, but can also develop over time due to gradual wear and tear associated with overuse,” says Desmond. “The surgery for labral tears is generally minimally invasive, and involves arthroscopy.”

Steffi Graf

• Professional tennis debut: 1982
• Singles Grand Slam titles: 22
• Wimbledon titles: 8

Seen as another of the greatest players of all time, Steffi Graf holds the record for the only tennis player to have achieved the calendar-year Golden Slam (winning all four Grand Slam singles plus Olympic gold in the same year). Before Serena Williams overtook her in 2017, she also held the record for the most Grand Slam women’s singles titles won in the Open Era of tennis (since 1968).

Graf battled with injury throughout her highly successful tennis career. Defeating Vicario in a nail-biting 1995 Wimbledon final to take the title, she underwent foot surgery later that year to remove a bone spur problem. “When your body thinks your bone is damaged, it tries to fix it by adding bone to the injured area, resulting in bone spurs. Bone spurs, also known as osteophyte, are tiny outgrowths of bone that form around joints or the spine,” explains Desmond. “These are common in athletes because of the added stress on their muscles, ligaments and tendons, which can cause injuries,” he says.

Her injury problems became more significant as she played on, and she had knee surgery in 1997, after a year of playing through the pain.

She went on to win the French Open in 1999, retiring from tennis that year.

Martina Hingis

• Professional tennis debut: 1994
• Singles Grand Slam titles: 5
• Wimbledon titles: 1

Hingis turned pro in 1994 and in 1996 became the youngest Grand Slam champion of all time, when she won the doubles title with Helena Suková, at just 15 years old.

A very strong doubles player, who’s also won five Grand Slam women’s singles titles including one at Wimbledon, she’s also had more than one operation to help with injury. Her sporting comeback saw her overcome ligament injuries in both ankles, and she also suffered with hip injuries during her tennis career before retiring in 2017.

Wimbledon 2019

While the above players are some of the game’s elite, injuries from tennis are common at all levels — with men reporting a higher rate of trunk and thigh injuries, and women reporting more hip and lower leg injuries due to time spent rallying.

And it’s no different this year at Wimbledon, with Rafa facing a major injury scare from his practice session that could see him withdraw from the Championships, and other players that have already withdrawn in the first couple of days due to injury.

The best of luck to all the players competing this year, no doubt we will also see some brilliant tennis being played and maybe even some career-defining wins.

More information

• If you have a tennis related injury and are keen to return to the courts as soon as possible, talk to your GP in the first instance (Don’t have a GP?)
• If you would like to see a specialist immediately, we have leading specialists in Sports and Exercise Medicine and Trauma and Orthopaedics.
• At King Edward VII’s Hospital, we also have a dedicated Physiotherapy Department that helps patients recover from all sports injuries and gets them back to what they love doing.