Journal profile · Sport Sciences
Journal of Sports Sciences
ISSN 0264-0414 · eISSN 1466-447X · Routledge · ENGLAND · Bimonthly · Founded 1983
Journal of Sports Sciences: CAS Zone 3 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.39; JCR Q2 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC charged, amount not published; median 223 days to acceptance (91 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: easy; 356 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Sports Sciences is published by Routledge and is in Zone 3 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Sports Performance and Training, Sports injuries and prevention and Sport Psychology and Performance, together about 44.7% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Journal of Sports Sciences has an international reputation for publishing articles of a high standard and is both Medline and Clarivate Analytics-listed. It publishes research on various aspects of the sports and exercise sciences, including anatomy, biochemistry, biomechanics, performance analysis, physiology, psychology, sports medicine and health, as well as coaching and talent identification, kinanthropometry and other interdisciplinary perspectives. The emphasis of the Journal is on the human sciences, broadly defined and applied to sport and exercise. Besides experimental work in human responses to exercise, the subjects covered will include human responses to technologies such as the design of sports equipment and playing facilities, research in training, selection, performance prediction or modification, and stress reduction or manifestation. Manuscripts considered for publication include those dealing with original investigations of exercise, validation of technological innovations in sport or comprehensive reviews of topics relevant to the scientific study of sport. Work which is conceptually-driven and has generalizability and applications across sports and exercise is preferred over work which is descriptive and is relevant to only a single area of focus. Around 3,000 submissions are received each year and around 10% of these papers are published. The desk-rejection rate is around 80-85%. The Journal is published in affiliation with The Chartered Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences. Readership is varied and ranges from academics to practitioners from a range of disciplines and areas of application. Physical Activity, Health and Exercise Submissions should have a clear focus on the public health outcomes associated with physical activity. Papers may stem from any established scientific approach, including population studies, randomized control trials or structured reviews and should include a clear rationale for the work and ideally practical implications arising from the findings. Read this section's Editorial here. Physiology and Nutrition The Physiology and Nutrition section publishes original work with a strong conceptual backdrop associated with the following areas of scientific investigation: exercise physiology; nutrition; molecular and cellular biology; genetics; epigenetics; and kinanthropometry. Read this section's Editorial here. Sport and Exercise Psychology This section publishes original work in sport and exercise psycho
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Sport Sciences
Editor-in-chief A. MarkPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United Kingdom 13, Hong Kong, China 1, United States 1, Germany 1, Australia 1 (19 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Sports Performance and TrainingMedicine22.8%
- Sports injuries and preventionMedicine13.3%
- Sport Psychology and PerformancePsychology8.6%
- Cardiovascular and exercise physiologyMedicine6.1%
- Motivation and Self-Concept in SportsPsychology3.8%
- Sports Analytics and PerformanceEconomics, Econometrics and Finance3.7%
- Sports Dynamics and BiomechanicsEngineering3.5%
- Lower Extremity Biomechanics and PathologiesEngineering3.4%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Sport Sciences | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Sport Sciences | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Sport Sciences | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- JCR Q2 · best quartile · 2025
- CiteScore Q1 · 2025
Publisher-reported: JCR figures are Clarivate's and CiteScore figures Scopus's to confirm; both are a different system from the CAS zones.Publisher website
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
MEDLINEPublisher website
Other: ProQuest, Clarivate Analytics, Adis International Ltd., British Library Board, CABI, EBSCOhost, Elsevier BV, Focus On Sports Science and Medicine, Gale, Ovid, Taylor & Francis
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 3.39LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 3.1Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 3.9Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4.4LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 4.4Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.02LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 1.02Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.25LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 1.25Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 117LetPub ·
- h-index
- 215OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 4,604OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.22OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 6.5%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 21.25%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 345LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 1,700,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 8,416 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 287 | 97 | 28 |
| 2025 | 356 | 198 | 1,179 |
| 2024 | 272 | 152 | 1,738 |
| 2023 | 234 | 136 | 1,941 |
| 2022 | 205 | 104 | 2,890 |
| 2021 | 266 | 128 | 4,511 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
223 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 155 days – 349 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 16 days (92 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 251 days
- Sample
- 91 articles with submission and acceptance dates (722 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- 3–6 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 11%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 8 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 113 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 15 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access, Peer review
- Open access Open access
Journal of Sports Sciences is a hybrid open access journal that is part of the Taylor & Francis Open Select publishing program, giving you the option to publish open access. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research. Why choose open access? Increase the discoverability …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer Review Statement
Rigorous peer review for every open access article Model summary
All research and review articles in this journal have undergone rigorous peer review, based on initial editor screening and anonymized (double-anonymized) refereeing by at least two referees.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Routledge
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Bimonthly
- Founded
- 1983
- ISSN
- 0264-0414
- Electronic ISSN
- 1466-447X
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 44, Issue 19 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of Sports Sciences
What CAS zone is Journal of Sports Sciences in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of Sports Sciences is in Zone 3 of Medicine, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Sport Sciences. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Journal of Sports Sciences?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.39; CiteScore 4.4, h-index 215.
How long does peer review take at Journal of Sports Sciences?
Based on the dates recorded on 91 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 223 days (interquartile range 155–349 days); authors report an average review time of 3–6 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Easy”; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 11%. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What JCR quartile is Journal of Sports Sciences in?
The journal's website gives JCR Q2 (best quartile). JCR quartiles are Clarivate's to confirm and a different system from the CAS zones; in the CAS ranking the journal is in Zone 3 of Medicine.
Where are the editorial board members of Journal of Sports Sciences based?
Of the 19 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United Kingdom (13), Hong Kong, China (1) and United States (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Journal of Sports Sciences?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Sports Sciences is indexed in SCIE and Scopus. The journal's website also lists MEDLINE; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Journal of Sports Sciences open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Sports Sciences is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .