For the elite players, fourteen raw data themes were organised into eight HOST’s. Seven were classified into the HOT of “high self-confidence”, whilst the HOT of “low self-confidence” contained only one HOST.
Effects upon positive cognitive states: “I truly believed deep down that I’d win, and that helped me stay positive”, and positive states in general were identified as the two major factors influencing high self-confidence. The only factor which contributed to low self-confidence for elite players was the timing of self-belief with negative consequences: “My self-confidence went down a little bit when I lost the first set”.
Twenty raw data themes emerged from the non-elite players. Eleven HOST’S were developed with eight of these placed into the HOT of high self-confidence. The non-elite players cited effects upon positive cognitive states, positive states in general and timing of positive self-belief as most influential on their high self- confidence: “Even when he [opponent] was a break up in the second [set], I was still confident”. Half of the players perceived over-confidence to contribute to errors, with repetition causing low self-confidence: “I did get over-confident and missed silly shots”.
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Non-elite players reported twice as many core skills being negatively affected by cognitive anxiety as the elite players. Elite players showed almost three times as many core skills were positively affected by their perceptions of cognitive anxiety. Both groups acknowledged that percentage of first serves and return of serve percentage were most affected by their cognitions, either positively or negatively. 3.4 Anxiety and self-confidence effects upon core skill in performance
Table 1. Number of elite and non-elite players affected positively and/or negatively by the three components of multidimensional anxiety
Multi-dimensional state anxiety in male tennis players 133 In the non-elite group, three core skills were perceived to be negatively affected by debilitative somatic anxiety, for example, the percentage of first serves was cited by 75% of players. Only one skill was positively affected for facilitative somatic anxiety for the non-elite players (backhand, 25%). Only one skill was negatively affected for debilitative somatic anxiety for the elite players (backhand, 25%) with four skills positively affected by facilitative somatic anxiety, in
particular the volley (75%): “My volleys were really solid because I was feeling pumped up physically”.
Although both groups had five core skills positively affected by high self- confidence, the non-elite players had twice as many skills negatively affected by low self-confidence, namely percentage of first serves, volley, smash and drop shot. Elite players reported percentage of first serves as being most affected in a positive direction (75%): “The more confident I became, the harder I hit the serve [and] the more it went in”. Non-elite players reported percentage of first serves and drop shots as being most positively affected.
4 Discussion
Elite players elicited more facilitative cognitive and somatic anxiety HOSTs compared to non-elite players. However, somewhat surprisingly the elite players also reported a considerable number of debilitative HOSTs. Indeed, for somatic anxiety an even distribution of facilitative and debilitative HOSTs were generated. Both the elite and non-elite players identified a greater number of high self- confidence HOSTs than low self-confidence HOSTs.
These findings partially support earlier research which suggests elite athletes perceive their anxiety as more facilitative and experience higher self-confidence compared to non-elite athletes (Jones et al., 1994). The generation of an even split between facilitative and debilitative HOSTs for elite players, coupled with non- elite players reporting a number of facilitative HOSTs, suggests that differences between elite and non-elite may not be as clear cut as originally thought.
Perceived direction of anxiety and self-confidence were also noted to have a differentiated impact on the tennis players’ core skills. The most affected core skill was the first serve. This could be explained by an examination of the nature and circumstances of the shot. The serve is cited as one of the most important shots in the players’ repertoire and the only shot that players can execute in their own time. The pre-serve protocol may allow time for anxiety and/or self-confidence
symptoms to manifest themselves, either positively or negatively. Overall, direction of anxiety and self-confidence was perceived to be more detrimental for non-elite than elite players and all players felt that their perceptions of anxiety influenced the execution of certain core skills.
5 Conclusion
This study examined the perceptions of the direction of multidimensional state anxiety amongst tennis players of different skill levels, and the effects upon core skills of performance. Although the small sample size used in the study meant that
134 Smith and Jones
results could not be generalised to the population at large, it did provide a basis for future research. The study suggested the need to break down performance into core skills, and to allow a deeper understanding of in vivo anxiety and self-confidence effects.
This study also demonstrated how a qualitative approach to research can elicit fresh perspectives on the stress and performance relationship.
6 Acknowledgements
The assistance of David Gilbourne with the review of earlier drafts of the manuscript is greatly appreciated.
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