Dr Moiz Moghal, Elite Physical Medicine’s Consultant in Sport & Exercise Medicine, is at Queen’s this week as Chief Tournament Physician.

Dr Moghal told us:

“It’s been quite exciting to be there every day throughout the 2023 championships. My job is to give any assistance, as required, from a medical perspective.”

Similar to the EPM clinic, at Queen’s, Dr Moghal works as part of a multidisciplinary team, with two physiotherapists and two soft tissue experts. But, as the sole doctor, he’s been kept busy seeing players with both new injuries and ongoing issues, as well as being on standby for any medical emergencies. 

He says:

“It’s a really interesting dynamic in tennis because the players have such a hectic schedule. They go from one competition to another, travelling all over the world. There can be a real disparity in terms of the resources that different tennis players have.

Obviously, the top players in the world have their own medical teams who travel with them everywhere. But the lower players don’t have an entourage! This means they often don’t get much continuity of care.”

Dr Moghal supports the EPM philosophy of providing the same level of care to a local patient playing club-level tennis as he would to a top athlete, and it’s this that makes him such a valuable part of our team.

Dr Moghal explains his approach:

“A player might come to see me, having been given a diagnosis four weeks ago, and I have to start from scratch to understand their unique injury.

With the pros, the challenge for me is to provide the best treatment and recommendations that I can before they move on. Sometimes it’s hard not being able to offer them any follow-up. That’s a really important part of the job for me, and something I take pride in at Elite.”

One of the most interesting aspects of Dr Moghal’s work at Queen’s has been seeing players who’ve picked up injuries and subsequently had to pull out of the tournament. This has included some of the top seeds, who want to be in the best condition for other high profile competitions.

When players pull out at Queen’s, it falls to Dr Moghal as Chief Tournament Physician, to sign this off on medical grounds. For those players who have one eye on Wimbledon, luckily Dr Moghal will be there too!