Why are so many British players injured?

'No substitutes in tennis' - why are so many Brits injured?Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Sonay Kartal has not played since 12 March, when she retired injured against Elena Rybakina at Indian WellsByRussell FullerTennis correspondent in RomePublished3 minutes agoFor Jack Draper it has been his right knee, Sonay Kartal her back and Jacob Fearnley his rib.Add in the viral infection that has kept Emma Raducanu off the tour for two months and counting, and you can see why Britain's top 100 resources have been stretched so thinly during this clay-court season.It is not, of course, an exclusively British problem.Carlos Alcaraz will not defend his French Open title because of a wrist injury, while world number seven Taylor Fritz has been resting and rehabbing a long-term knee problem since March.The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) internally audits the injuries suffered by British players and says there is no repeat pattern.But performance director Michael Bourne says a high load on an athlete is a "key driver" of injuries - and in tennis that is very hard to control."Tennis players tend to play more matches than a lot of other sports," he explained."I did some research looking at who played the most hours in football last year. Federico Valverde from Real Madrid apparently played 101 hours, Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United 97."If you compare that to tennis, Jannik Sinner allegedly played 182 hours and Carlos Alcaraz 176."You don't get to substitute in a game of tennis - once you are on, you are on. Because of the nature of the match you don't get to control whether you are out there for three hours or five."Raducanu withdraws from Rome with post viral symptomsPublished13 hours ago'A judgement call' - the dilemmas facing playersOf the six British singles players who began the year in the top 100, Cameron Norrie is the only one to have avoided injury or illness, and he has returned impres...