Quality of life of Brazilian wheelchair tennis athletes across competitive and elite levels

Abstract Aims This study aimed to identify Brazilian wheelchair tennis athletes' quality of life and to compare the perception scores between competitive and elite athletes. Methods Participants were wheelchair tennis athletes (N = 31) from Brazil (males = 25, females = 6) divided into two groups: competitive and elite. Data was collected using the Brazilian version of the WHOQOL-Bref. The WHOQOL-Bref asks two general questions, and is thereafter divided into four main domains: 1) physical, psychological, social, and environment, which give us an understanding of their overall quality of life perception. Results The results showed that overall, 29 out of the 31 athletes perceived their quality of life positively, regardless of the competitive level. However, statistically higher perceptions were found in the physical domain and the total score of quality of life of the elite group. Conclusion The findings of this study suggest that even though participation in high-performance adapted sports may offer a stressful and exhausting environment, elite wheelchair tennis athletes from Brazil perceive themselves as having a better QoL than competitive athletes.

摘要 研究目的：本研究旨在探究巴西轮椅网球运动员的生活质量状况，并对比竞技组与精英组运动员的生活质量感知得分差异。
研究方法：本研究的研究对象为31名巴西籍轮椅网球运动员（男性25名，女性6名），按竞技水平分为竞技组与精英组两组。数据采集采用巴西本土化版的世界卫生组织生活质量简表（WHOQOL-Bref）。该量表包含2个一般性问题，随后分为4个核心维度：生理、心理、社会关系与环境领域，可全面反映受试者对自身生活质量的感知情况。
研究结果：结果显示，整体而言，31名运动员中有29名对自身生活质量持积极感知，且这一结果不受竞技水平影响。但进一步分析发现，精英组在生理领域得分与生活质量总得分上，均显著高于竞技组，该差异具有统计学意义。
研究结论：本研究结论表明，尽管参与高水平适配性体育运动可能会营造出充满压力与身心疲惫的环境，但巴西精英轮椅网球运动员对自身生活质量的感知仍优于竞技组运动员。