“This may be annoying for some of you, but it needs to be said.” Suddenly, the “Served with Andy Roddick” podcast took on a less light-hearted tone. Former world number 1 Andy Roddick, founder of this eponymous weekly show, spoke publicly for the first time about his state of health. “I have suffered from different types of skin cancer since I stopped playing. I had a squamous cell tumor removed from my lip five or six years ago,” said the 41-year-old American, winner of the US Open in 2003.
Ironically about the red marks on his face (“It looks like I got in a fight”), Roddick explained that they were the result of laser surgery applied that morning. Above all, the crazy ex-waiter took advantage of this announcement to utter a message: “Put on sunscreen”. “And give it to your children, especially on the tennis courts,” he continued. The problems don’t appear at age eight, but perhaps at age 38. »
“Any outdoor activity exposes you to skin cancer,” agrees Doctor Marc Reverte, vice-president of the French Society of Dermatology, interviewed by Le Parisien. In a report published on its website, Columbia University of Medicine thus considers tennis as a “risky” sport, in the same way as skiing, running, surfing, cycling, swimming or golf, “because of longer and greater exposure to the rays ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun. According to Public Health France, 85% of the 140,000 to 240,000 skin cancers detected each year in the country are attributable to excessive UV exposure. And this even if genetics also has something to do with it.
Three times more cases in 30 years
The use of sunscreen, called for by Roddick, is a first step in protecting yourself. “It is not enough on its own but it reduces the effects of the sun, provided you apply it well everywhere,” specifies dermatologist Marc Reverte. And renew it every two hours, as recommended the National Cancer Institute on its website. A precaution that is all the more necessary as “sweating can make sunscreen disappear or make it less effective,” adds Columbia University.
The health agency also specifies to avoid exposure between 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. However, many matches take place during this time slot, in particular during Grand Slam tournaments, where their duration often exceeds the famous two hours on the men’s table, matches in three winning sets oblige. To complete the preventative equipment, Marc Reverte also invokes clothing protection materialized, in the case of tennis, by wearing a cap or hat.
If these applications concern adults, they are even more important for children. “Any sun exposure before the age of 15 constitutes an even greater risk,” says the dermatologist. The skin is in fact thinner and more fragile before this age. Even if they are considered cancers with a “favorable prognosis” (93% 5-year survival), skin cancers have at the same time seen the number of new cases triple between 1990 and 2023.
