Designing Adaptive Sportswear Based on Biomechanical Needs

This research paper aims to design and concept-develop adaptive sportswear based on the biomechanical needs of the athletes. Biomechanics is a science related to the study of the mechanical characteristics of a living being. Due to repetition and overuse of the body parts, while playing wheelchair tennis, athletes often complain of body pain and injure themselves in the process. A preliminary study has been carried out since 2019 at Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association (KSLTA), Bengaluru, India, with regular wheelchair tennis players comprising men and women who volunteered for the research. Ethnographic design research was undertaken to understand the external and internal factors that influence the sportswear needs of wheelchair tennis players in the actual situation with a user-centric approach.