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The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between self-confidence, anxiety, and mood states in collegiate tennis players. The Competitive State Anxiety Inventory - 2 (CSAI-2) and the Profile of Mood States (POMS) were utilized based on their ability to assess a number of different psychological states thought to be crucial for proper mental preparation prior to athletic competition as well as for their psychometric properties. These inventories were employed to determine pre-competition levels of anxiety, self-confidence and mood disturbance and their relationship to successful or unsuccessful tennis match outcome. Twenty-four collegiate tennis players completed the POMS and CSAI-2 30 minutes prior to their tennis match during their participation in the NCAA Regional (VII) Team Tennis Tournament. Results revealed winning tennis players displayed significantly higher self-confidence, lower cognitive and somatic anxiety levels, and lower total mood disturbance scores than losing players. In addition, winning tennis players exhibited the iceberg profile on the POMS, which is consistent with the findings in similar research conducted with successful athletes in other sports. As such, athletes who displayed high self-confidence and low anxiety levels were potentially able to remain calm and relaxed under pressure and were not as affected by negative events. Furthermore, these results suggest that mental state prior to the start of a tennis match plays a crucial role in overall success or failure.
An individual's positive or negative mental state has long been thought to play a crucial role in his or her ability to perform sport specific tasks. This ability then either augments or detracts from his or her overall success or failures as an athlete. Players who are evenly matched in physical skills often rely upon their psychological skills to gain an advantage over their opponents. More specifically, self-confidence, mood disturbances, cognitive and somatic anxiety have all been linked as contributing factors to athletic performance (Hassmen & Blomstrand, 1995; Morgan, O'Connor, Ellickson, & Bradley, 1988; Ussher & Hardy, 1986).
Self-confidence is one of the most frequently cited psychological factors thought to effect sport performance and has been a primary focus of research conducted by sport psychologists as it is considered by many to be a key factor to successful performance (Feltz, 1988). Bandura's (1982) social cognitive theory suggests that an individuals'...