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David and tennis |   |
David is from Spain and has mild haemophilia A.
Questions and answers
What do you do to keep yourself fit?
Not too much. Actually I used to go to the gym but I have no time and I’m also quite lazy.
Do you participate in any kind of sports?
Sometimes I play tennis.
Have you ever had to quit a sport due to your bleeding disorder?
No I haven’t.
Have your parents/doctor interfered with your choice of sports?
I think so, at least when I was a child. Later I realised that I could practise more sports than other friends of mine that were also haemophiliacs but maybe It was so late to start practising a new sport and I didn’t fancy doing it.
Read more about David in the previous article, which is part of the "Around the world" theme.
Tennis
Tennis is a game with two players or two teams of two players who using a stringed racquet hit a hollow rubber ball over a low net into the opponents court. The objective is to place the ball so the opponent is unable to send it back into ones own court before the ball has touched the ground twice. Tennis was derived from an ancient Greek game called sphairistike. Modern tennis started in England ca. 1860, where it was played outside on grass courts. Later, clay courts and hardcourts were introduced. The different surfaces require their own technique, so typically players will be specialists on one type.
Photo: Ricky Diver
Tennis has three major tournaments that all players strive to win. These are the so-called Grand Slam tournaments: Wimbledon, French Open, US Open and Australian Open. Wimbledon is played on grass, French Open on clay, and the remaining two on hardcourts. Since 1988 tennis has been on the Olympic program.
Tennis has many legendary players, but arguably, the most impressive records are held by Steffi Graf. In 1988 she became the only player to achieve a so-called Golden Slam winning all four Grand Slam titles and the Olympic gold medal in the same year. She was ranked the nr. 1 female player in the world for 377 weeks in total, including a consecutive streak of 186 weeks, a record that has yet to be beaten.
What the doctors say
Despite what you might think, the arms are not exercised much in tennis, since the muscles in the chest and lower back do most of the work when swinging the racquet. Tennis requires many explosive movements over short distances, so all the muscles in the legs are exercised.
The explosive movements is one of the risks, since they place high strain on joints and ligaments. To prevent bleeds, a thorough warm up routine should be followed before playing, and followed by stretching at the end of the training. Many accidents happen when slipping, so playing on a wet and slippery court should definitely be avoided.
When hitting the ball with the racquet, a shock effect moves from the wrist through the elbow to the shoulder. This could potentially cause bleeds, particularly since almost all players will hold the racquet exclusively with one arm, putting it under a lot of strain.
Despite the risks, tennis is considered relatively safe for people with haemophilia.
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