Abstract
Displays of anxiety in table tennis were assessed through subjective (a self-report questionnaire), physiological (heart-rate variability) and kinematic variables. Using a within-group crossover design, 9 university-level table tennis players completed a series of serves under low- and high-anxiety conditions. Anxiety manipulation was achieved through the introduction of a national standard table tennis player, known to the participants, to receive serves in the high-anxiety condition, whilst serves were received by no opponent in the low-anxiety condition. Automated motion capture systems consisting of high-speed 3D motion cameras and analytical software (QUALISYS) determined the subject’s movement kinematics: bat face angle (degrees) and serve routine duration (s). Self-reported state anxiety (MRF-Likert) and heart rate measurements were collected to examine changes between conditions. Contrary to the hypothesis, bat face angles did not change significantly between anxiety conditions (F (1.8) = 2.791, p = 0.133) and movement times were faster in the high-anxiety condition. In light of these findings, research into other facets of movement behaviour must be analysed to gain further understanding of the effects of anxiety on performance, which remain unclear
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 83-95 |
Journal | Journal of Human Kinetics |
Volume | 55 |
Issue number | 1 |
Early online date | 30 Jan 2017 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 30 Jan 2017 |
Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)
- sports psychology
- anxiety
- athlete
- racquet sports