Part of the attraction of a sport such as tennis is the ability to continue to play the game competitively into middle age and retirement. However, this means that tennis players are exposing their shoulders, elbows and wrists to repetitive high-force actions into the ages at which degenerative conditions become more common. As such, it is common for tennis players to experience injuries in these areas at some point in their playing careers.
While the term ‘tennis elbow’ provides an indication of the high incidence of problems in tennis players, not all pain around the elbow is ‘lateral epicondylitis’. Your elbow may also hurt because of: posterior impingement, radial head arthritis, golfers’ elbow, distal biceps tendinopathy and frank trauma.
More information on these conditions is given in this website under the relevant Elbow Conditions section.
As a general rule, however, it is important to understand that many degenerative conditions from tennis relate to technique or equipment as the causative factors. Simply treating the resultant symptoms may not completely solve your problems, so it is worth addressing both your technique and racket/grip size in conjunction with any medical or surgical treatment you may require. This should help your recovery be more enduring.