Going Shirtless on the Tennis Court

Should you go shirtless out there on the court?  Here are a couple of things to consider.

 1.    I never allowed students or team players to practice this way for general decorum and it helped set the tone. 

2.    Another argument against it might include health since the days of getting a tan are over if you consider skin cancer risk, and suggest against it for that reason. After decades outside teaching, most tennis pros will get skin cancer so there is also a practical reason to limit your total exposure and I explain this to students as well. 

3.     I recommend sun protection including hats, sunglasses, and sunscreen since tennis players often get excessive sun exposure. Sunscreen and hats are cheap when you compare those to surgery to remove skin cancer not to mention the pain involved. 

4.     Private clubs have a right to set rules, but if you go out on a public court and decide to play that way I see it as a matter of choice.

Cancer Cure: Out of Control and Beyond the Confines of Modern Medicine, Cure in 10 Years

Cancer Cure

As with any cure stories I read them but only to look for direction in the way cures may develop.  Hopefully some real and sustaining cures will make most of what constitutes cancer treatment a relic of the past.

Cure in 10 Years

Health: Sunscreen Safety

Are they safe?  FDA 

Clothing that protects parts of your skin that get too much exposure is probably a good idea.  If you're going to use sunscreen maybe the best approach is to protect your nose and face when possible.  These areas are the most exposed and can be the most expensive to treat since often you have to have MOHS surgery done to remove cancer rather than freezing which can often take out pre-cancerous skin. 

 

Here is a recent article that gives you a full rundown of the available suncreens in the USA.  Other countries in the world have more options thanks to the FDA limiting the available options for Americans.

You're not allowed to have the best sunscreens in the world.- The Atlantic