Objectives To assess differences in career longevity, as a potential marker of athlete well-being, before and after the 1995 implementation of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Age Eligibility Rule (AER) and Player Development Programmes (PDP), which focused on organisational, physical and psychosocial education, skill building and support for adolescent athletes (≤17 years). Methods Career longevity data were collected through 2019 on adolescent players who began professional tournament play between 1970 and 2014 and reached a WTA singles ranking of 1–150 for a minimum of 1 week during their careers. Players were separated into pre-AER/PDP and post-AER/PDP groups, consisting of those who played their first professional events (FPE) before or after 1 January 1995. Measures of career longevity included career duration and premature retirement. Results Eight-hundred and eleven players were included in this study (51% pre-AER/PDP). The median career duration was 14.2 years for the post-AER/PDP group compared with 12.1 years for the pre-AER/PDP group (p<0.001). Moreover, post-AER/PDP players had higher probabilities of 10-year and 15-year careers compared with pre-AER/PDP players. After adjusting for age at FPE, athletes in the pre-AER/PDP group had an increased risk of shorter career duration (HR 1.55; 95% CI 1.31 to 1.83) and increased odds of premature retirement (OR 5.39; 95% CI 2.28 to 12.75) than athletes in the post-AER/PDP group. Conclusions Adolescent athletes participating on the WTA after the combined AER/PDP initiative had longer career durations, higher probabilities of 10-year and 15-year careers, and decreased risk of premature retirement compared with those participating prior to AER/PDP. Organisational practices that encompass both education and competition regulation can positively affect career longevity related to improving athlete well-being. No data are available. Data used in this manuscript are contained in a WTA database and not publicly available.

中文翻译：

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女子网球协会巡回赛年龄资格规则和球员发展计划实施前后职业寿命的差异：一项为期 25 年的研究

目标 评估 1995 年女子网球协会 (WTA) 年龄资格规则 (AER) 和球员发展计划 (PDP) 实施前后职业寿命的差异，作为运动员幸福感的潜在标志，该规则侧重于组织、对青少年运动员（≤17 岁）的体育和心理社会教育、技能培养和支持。方法 收集了截至 2019 年的职业寿命数据，这些青少年球员在 1970 年至 2014 年间开始职业锦标赛，并在其职业生涯中至少 1 周达到 WTA 单打排名 1-150。球员被分为前 AER/PDP 和后 AER/PDP 组，包括那些在 1995 年 1 月 1 日之前或之后参加过他们的第一次职业赛事 (FPE) 的人。职业寿命的衡量标准包括职业生涯持续时间和提前退休。结果 811 名球员被纳入本研究（51% 是 AER/PDP 前）。AER/PDP 后组的中位职业持续时间为 14.2 年，而 AER/PDP 前组为 12.1 年（p<0.001）。此外，与 AER/PDP 前的球员相比，AER/PDP 后的球员拥有 10 年和 15 年职业生涯的概率更高。在调整 FPE 的年龄后，pre-AER/PDP 组的运动员职业生涯时间缩短的风险增加（HR 1.55；95% CI 1.31 至 1.83）和提前退休的几率增加（OR 5.39；95% CI 2.28 至12.75）比 AER/PDP 后组的运动员。结论 联合 AER/PDP 计划后参加 WTA 的青少年运动员职业生涯持续时间更长，职业生涯 10 年和 15 年的概率更高，与在 AER/PDP 之前参与的人相比，提前退休的风险降低。包含教育和比赛监管的组织实践可以积极影响与改善运动员福祉相关的职业寿命。没有可用的数据。本手稿中使用的数据包含在 WTA 数据库中，不公开。