Abstract
Purpose
In tennis, there exist different types of situations in which players are unable to finish a match or a tournament. Walkovers (W/O) refer to when a player wins a match due to the absence of his/her opponent. This investigation aimed to describe W/O in Association of Tennis Professional (ATP) tournaments between 1973 and 2019, analysing epidemiological patterns and associated factors.
Methods
A retrospective cohort study was conducted, analysing 168137 matches. Factors that might influence W/O were studied by epidemiological measures, including both absolute and relative measures of risk incidence proportion (IP) per 1000 played matches and cumulative incidence ratio (CIR) are provided as association measures.
Results
The IP was 4.2 (95%CI: 3.9–4.5). Master tournaments showed the higher IP (5.5; 95%CI: 4.6–6.6). Carpet courts were the ones with a higher IP (6.3; 95%CI: 5.2–7.6). The matches with 3 sets had a 2.5% greater risk comparing with those with 5. The primary causes of W/O were attributed to injuries (28.7%), illnesses (7.8%), and personal reasons (2.5%), although the majority of reasons remained unknown (61.0%).
Conclusion
This study provides a comprehensive understanding of W/O in professional tennis, highlighting epidemiological patterns. These findings have practical implications for athletes, coaches, and organizers, guiding preventive strategies and future research.