Gender and Age Influence in Pre-Competitive and Post-Competitive Anxiety in Young Tennis Players

Rafael Martínez-Gallego, Santos Villafaina, Miguel Crespo and Juan Pedro Fuentes-García
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Rafael Martínez-Gallego: Department of Sport and Physical Education, University of Valencia, 46010 Valencia, Spain
Santos Villafaina: Faculty of Sports Science, University of Extremadura, Avda: Universidad S/N, 10003 Cáceres, Spain
Miguel Crespo: Development Department, International Tennis Federation, London SW15 5XZ, UK
Juan Pedro Fuentes-García: Faculty of Sports Science, University of Extremadura, Avda: Universidad S/N, 10003 Cáceres, Spain

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 9, 1-10

Abstract: To study the influence of age and gender on pre-competitive and post-competitive anxiety and self-confidence in young tennis players. A total of 42 U’12 to U’18 category tennis players, 12 females and 30 males, participated in this cross-sectional study. The players had a mean age of 13.74 (2.07) years old and a national competitive experience of 4.00 (2.14) years. The pre-competitive anxiety of the participants was assessed using the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory–2R (CSAI-2R) and the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-E) before and after an official tournament’s match. Results showed that younger players showed lower trait anxiety (r = 0.333; p < 0.05), lower pre-match state anxiety (r = 0.501; p < 0.01) and lower pre-match somatic anxiety (r = 0.313; p < 0.05). Furthermore, girls exhibited higher values of state anxiety (r = 0.445; p < 0.01) and somatic anxiety (r = 0.440; p < 0.01) than boys before the match. However, differences were not observed in the trait anxiety measured by STAI-E (r = 0.203; p = 0.213), cognitive anxiety (r = 0.140; p = 0.363), and self-confidence measured by the CSAI questionnaire (r = 0.150; p = 0.333), before the match. Therefore, coaches and sport psychologists should implement adequate on- and off-court individualized interventions to manage anxiety, specifically in girls and players over 14 years old. Although anxiety levels were similar to those before the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the influence of the pandemic on mental health, results might be taken with caution.

Keywords: racket sports; juniors; stress; pressure; choking (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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