Journal profile · Health Professions-Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation
Open Sports Sciences Journal
ISSN 1875-399X · Bentham
Open Sports Sciences Journal: fully open access; APC about USD 850; median 97 days to acceptance (28 articles, last 24 months); 17 articles in 2025; indexed in Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Open Sports Sciences Journal is published by Bentham. By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Sports Performance and Training, Sport Psychology and Performance and Physical Education and Training Studies, together about 45.1% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Open Sports Sciences Journal is an open-access journal that publishes research articles, reviews/mini-reviews, letters, and guest-edited single-topic issues in all areas of sports sciences, such as anthropology, biochemistry, biomechanics, epidemiology, growth and motor development, motor control and learning, measurement and evaluation, physiology, pedagogy, psychology, history, philosophy or sociology. The emphasis of the Journal is on the human sciences, broadly defined, and applied to physical activity, sport and exercise. Topics covered also include design of analysis systems, sports equipment, research into training, and modeling and predicting performance. The Open Sports Sciences Journal, a peer reviewed journal, is an important and reliable source of current information on developments in the field. Emphasis is placed on publishing quality papers, making them freely available to researchers worldwide. The Open Sports Sciences Journal is an international, peer-reviewed, open-access journal covering all aspects of sports sciences published continuously by Bentham Open.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Health Professions-Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation
Editor-in-chief Pantelis T. NikolaidisPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named Italy 5, Greece 3, Portugal 2, United States 1, Japan 1 (18 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Sports Performance and TrainingMedicine24.1%
- Sport Psychology and PerformancePsychology12.9%
- Physical Education and Training StudiesHealth Professions8.1%
- Cardiovascular and exercise physiologyMedicine6.5%
- Sports Dynamics and BiomechanicsEngineering6%
- Sports and Physical Education ResearchHealth Professions5%
- Sports injuries and preventionMedicine4.2%
- Physical Activity and HealthMedicine3.7%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CiteScore quartiles (Scopus, June 2026 release)
| Subject | Quartile | Rank | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation | Q3 | 168/257 | 34th |
| Orthopedics and Sports Medicine | Q3 | 230/340 | 32nd |
Scopus ranks journals by CiteScore within each subject: the 75th percentile and above is Q1, then a quartile every 25 points. A different system from the CAS zones.LetPub
Database indexing
ScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Google Scholar, CNKI, J-Gate, Scilit, RePEc, Sherpa RomeoPublisher website
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
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 1.5LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 1.5Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.26LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.31LetPub ·
- h-index
- 28OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 98OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.67OpenAlex ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 0%LetPub ·
Volume
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2022
- 667,905Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2020
- 38,578Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2019
- 419,809Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2018
- 332,373Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 349 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 9 | 9 | 260 |
| 2025 | 17 | 17 | 346 |
| 2024 | 10 | 10 | 367 |
| 2023 | 13 | 13 | 334 |
| 2022 | 23 | 23 | 358 |
| 2021 | 24 | 24 | 367 |
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
97 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 78 days – 112 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 64 days (28 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 152 days
- Sample
- 28 articles with submission and acceptance dates (25 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
- Peer review
- Open 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
Fully open accessOpenAlex
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publisher website | USD 850 / USD 680 | — | — |
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- Submission fee
- USD 1,455
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)
What to prepare5 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 6
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 6,000 words
- Reference style
- ACS
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
Article types accepted18, with length limits
- book reviewournal. The total number of words for a book review is 850 to 1000 words excluding figures, structures, photographs, schemes, tablesmain text ≤ 1,000 words
- book reviewsThe total number of words for a book review is 850 to 1000 words excluding figures, structures, photographs, schemes, tables, etc.Length not stated
- case reporte total number of words for a published case report is 1500 to 2500 words with 40 or more references excluding figures, structures, pmain text ≤ 2,500 words
- commentaryted to the publications in the journal. Commentaries should contain less than 3000 words, including the abstract, main text, references, and figuremain text ≤ 3,000 words
- editorialEditorials are short papers on important topics related to the journal. The total number of words in an editorial should not exceed 1000 to 1500, and it should …references ≤ 15
- letterres, photographs, schemes, tables, etc. Letter Articles Letters should be 3000-4000 words with 40 or more references excluding figures, structures, pmain text ≤ 4,000 words
- letter articlesLetters should be 3000-4000 words with 40 or more references excluding figures, structures, photographs, schemes, tables, etc.Length not stated
- mini-review articlesMini-reviews should be 3000- 6000 words with 75 or more references excluding figures, structures, photographs, schemes, tables, etc.Length not stated
- perspectiveto the field. The length of a published perspective ranges from 1500 to 1800 words, with 20 or more references, excluding figures, structures,main text ≤ 1,800 words
- randomized drug clinical trial studiesTrial studies should be 4000 to 6000 words with 50 or more references excluding figures, structures, photographs, schemes, tables etc.Length not stated
- research articlel address contact us. Manuscript Length Research Articles Research articles should be of 4000-6000 words with 75 or more references excluding figures, structure…main text ≤ 6,000 words
- research articlesResearch articles should be of 4000-6000 words with 75 or more references excluding figures, structures, photographs, schemes, tables, etc.Length not stated
- review articleres, photographs, schemes, tables, etc. Review Articles The length of a published comprehensive review article is from 6000-10000 words with 100 or more referen…main text ≤ 10,000 words
- review articlesThe length of a published comprehensive review article is from 6000-10000 words with 100 or more references excluding figures, structures, photographs, schemes,…Length not stated
- short communicationsion of a full-length research article. Short communications should be 2000-3000 words with 25 or more references excluding figures, structures, pmain text ≤ 3,000 words
- short communicationsShort communications should be 2000-3000 words with 25 or more references excluding figures, structures, photographs, schemes, tables, etc.Length not stated
- systematic reviewe total number of words for a published systematic review is from 4000 to 6000 words with 100 or more references excluding figures, structures,main text ≤ 6,000 words
- systematic reviewsThe total number of words for a published systematic review is from 4000 to 6000 words with 100 or more references excluding figures, structures, photographs, s…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Plagiarism
- AI use Transparent reporting on AI and AI-assisted Technologies
Authors who use AI tools for the production of images or graphical elements of the paper, or in the collection and analysis of data, must disclose the use of such tools in the Materials and Methods (or similar section) of the paper, stating how the AI tool was used and which tool was used.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Authorship Criteria
Bentham Open requires that all individuals listed as authors must have made a substantial contribution to the design, performance, analysis, or reporting of the work. The role of authors is judged according to ICMJE and COPE guidelines.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest DISCLOSURE STATEMENT
All conflict of interest disclosure forms are collected by the corresponding author. It is sufficient for the corresponding author to sign the disclosure form on behalf of all authors in author collaborations when legal agreements for representation allow it. The templates of the form can be found here.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability AVAILABILITY OF DATA AND MATERIALS
The source of data and materials should be mentioned in the manuscript in support of the findings. Sharing research data is integral to its transparency and reproducibility. Data sharing involves the citation and availability of data that support the findings of the research. Bentham Open encourages authors to share the source of data and materials in the manuscript, in support of the findings. Re…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE
Open access under CC-BY 4.0 license. Model summary
Authors who publish in Bentham Open journals retain copyright to their work. It is a condition of publication that manuscripts submitted to this journal have not been published and will not be simultaneously submitted or published elsewhere. Plagiarism is strictly forbidden, and by submitting the article for publication, the authors agree that the publishers have the legal right to take appropriat…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access
Authors retain copyright. Model summary
Authors who publish in Bentham Open journals retain copyright to their work.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Case 4: Data Sharing, Evidence of Data Sharing and Data for Peer-Review
All datasets on which the paper's conclusions are based must be made accessible to reviewers and readers, according to the journal's rules. Prior to peer review, authors must either deposit their datasets in publicly accessible repositories or provide them as supplementary materials with their submission. For further details, please visit the complete guidelines at: http://www.icmje.org/recommenda…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism PLAGIARISM PREVENTION
Plagiarism means copying or paraphrasing another writer’s content, be it a text, a result or an observation, and stating it as one’s own, without citing a reference to the original source. Therefore, authors should acknowledge and cite references to the work of other scientists in their manuscripts. The author should ensure that all the sources are authentic and that there is no discrepancy in the…
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
- Bentham
- ISSN
- 1875-399X
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Open Sports Sciences Journal
How long does peer review take at Open Sports Sciences Journal?
Based on the dates recorded on 28 articles published between November 2024 and November 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 97 days (interquartile range 78–112 days). 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 are the manuscript requirements of Open Sports Sciences Journal?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Keywords: ≥ 6; Manuscript length: ≤ 6,000 words; Reference style: ACS; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Open Sports Sciences Journal based?
Of the 18 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Italy (5), Greece (3) and Portugal (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Open Sports Sciences Journal?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Open Sports Sciences Journal is indexed in Scopus.
Is Open Sports Sciences Journal open access, and what is the APC?
Open Sports Sciences Journal is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 850.
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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .