Precompetitive anxiety and self-confidence during the 2023 Finnish Padel championship in high level men’s players

Abstract

The aim of the current study was to assess precompetitive anxiety and self-confidence in high level men’s padel players from Finland. Twenty eight men’s padel players from the highest category participated in the research (87.5% of the target population). The CSAI-2R (Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 Revised) and STAI-S (State–Trait Anxiety Inventory – State) questionnaires were used and descriptive and inferential analyzes were performed, including the Kruskal Wallis’s H and Mann–Whitney’s U tests. The results show that seeded players presented lower levels of cognitive anxiety (η2 = 0.111). Moreover, losers of first round presented more state anxiety than winners (η2 = 0.302). Before the first match, state anxiety was higher than prior to the second match (η2 = 0.148). Furthermore, lower ranked players of first round, compared to second, presented more state anxiety and somatic anxiety (η2 = 0.487 and η2 = 0.277, respectively). However, according to the results obtained, self-confidence was not affected by any of the variables analyzed (ranking, seed, result or round). These findings may be of great interest to players, coaches and sports psychologists, as they allow an enhanced comprehension of the player’s level of anxiety and self-confidence.

Effects on strength, jumping, reaction time and perception of effort and stress in men´ s top-20 World Padel Competitions

“…On the contrary, other work did find an increase in mental fatigue and reaction time in players after matches belonging to the World Padel Tour competition (Díaz-García et al, 2021). In this line, our reaction time data are in accordance with the level of stress perceived by the top-20 players, which was low both before and after the matches, indicating a high level of self-confidence in these players regarding their physiological performance (Conde-Ripoll et al, 2023;Parraca et al, 2022). However, the RPE indicated by the players after the matches was significantly higher.…”

Position and ranking influence in padel: somatic anxiety and self-confidence increase in competition for left-side and higher-ranked players when compared to pressure training

“…CSAI-2R was used to measure precompetitive anxiety and self-confidence of players ( Cox et al, 2003 ) and STAI-S was used to measure their state anxiety ( Spielberger et al, 1970 ). These questionnaires have been used in previous research in padel ( Conde-Ripoll et al, 2023 ). In the analysis of the CSAI-2R instrument, Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were obtained, showing reliability scores of 0.515 for cognitive anxiety, 0.808 for somatic anxiety, 0.758 for self-confidence, all but the former meeting acceptable standards ( Nunnally and Bernstein, 1994 ; DeVellis, 2003 ; Vaske, 2008 ).…”

“…The questionnaires were administered to the players between 30 and 45 min prior to the start of each match, following the same criteria to that used by Andrade-Fernández et al (2007) and Conde-Ripoll et al (2023) . All questionnaires were completed in a quiet room with controlled temperature of 20°C.…”

“…The global surge of padel, a doubles racket sport, has attracted participants from over 60 nations affiliated with the International Padel Federation (2024) . This growth has triggered a notable rise in scholarly research focused on psychophysiology ( Conde-Ripoll et al, 2023 ; Díaz-García et al, 2023a ; Bustamante-Sánchez et al, 2024 ), although technical-tactical performance remains a dominant area of study ( Lupo et al, 2018 ; Escudero-Tena et al, 2021 ; Martín-Miguel et al, 2023 ; Conde-Ripoll et al, 2024 ; Ungureanu et al, 2024 ).…”

Pre and post-competitive anxiety and self-confidence and their relationship with technical-tactical performance in high-level men's padel players

“…Upon reviewing the scientific literature, the combination of mental preparation and performance in padel has received limited attention, with only a few studies exploring precompetitive anxiety and self-confidence ( 32 – 34 ) and none of them studying post-competitive anxiety and self-confidence. Understanding the interplay between a player's anxiety, self-confidence, and performance holds substantial value for players, coaches, and sports psychologists.…”