Sportsmanship rating scale in tennis competition with young players

World Conference on Psychology and Sociology 2012

Experiences of Australian professional female tennis players returning to competition from injury

Background: This study examined the experiences of professional female tennis players returning to competition from injury.

Methods: In a study commissioned by Tennis Australia, 55 Australian professional female tennis players responded anonymously to a questionnaire developed for the purposes of this study. The questionnaire consisted of open and closed questions that assessed a player’s attribution style, the occurrence and effect of minor and major injuries, frequency and type of treatment sought, attitudinal chances following injury and preventative injury factors.

Results: The quantitative and qualitative analyses of participants’ responses revealed players generally displayed an internal attribution style with the majority of minor injuries involving lower limb injuries (attributed to playing on hard surfaces). Players reported these injuries were addressed in a variety of ways including self-treatment. The majority of severe injuries were upper limb/shoulder and these were generally treated at tournament sites with some requiring surgery.

Conclusions: Players adopted a range of measures to assist recovery from severe injury including the services of health professionals. In further findings, a player’s attribution style was not a predictive variable, except in terms of the number of tournaments missed for minor injuries. Implications of the study’s results and future research directions for cross-cultural studies are highlighted.

Win at all costs or lose gracefully in high-stakes competition? Gender differences in professional tennis

This article examines line-call challenges by male and female professional tennis players in major tournaments around the world. In terms of utilization rates, we find that the genders behave similarly. Nevertheless, we do detect some intriguing gender differences in these challenges. First, male players’ challenges are more likely to be provoked by those of their opponents. More importantly, at tiebreaks, females are more likely to reverse an umpire’s unfavorable call, while males make relatively more unsuccessful challenges. Furthermore, we find that men are a lot more likely to make “embarrassing” line-call challenges at tiebreaks and offenses (i.e., when the shot lands at the opponent’s side of the tennis court) than women. These significant gender differences suggest that women particularly diverge from men at crucial junctures of the match such as tiebreaks. Differences in factors such as risk aversion, overconfidence, pride, shame, and strategic signalling behavior might help us to explain these gender-difference findings in line call challenges.

The momentum effect in competitions : field evidence from tennis matches

It is often suggested that there is a psychological advantage to be leading in a competition. It is, however, hard to identify such an effect econometrically. Using a Regression Discontinuity Design over a large dataset of tennis matches (N=634,095) the present paper exploits the randomised variation in first set results that occurs when the first set is decided by a close tie break (N=72,294). I find that winning the first set has a significant and strong effect on the result of the second set. A player who wins a close first set tie break will, on average, win one game more in the second set. I discuss the likely economic and psychological explanations of this phenomenon.

The physiological demands of table tennis: A review

Although table tennis has a tradition lasting more than 100 years, relatively little is known about players' physiological requirements - especially during competition. In this review we discuss research studies that have led to our current understanding of how the body functions during table tennis training and competition and how this is altered by training. Match and practice analysis of the table tennis game indicates that during intense practice and competition it is predominantly the anaerobic alactic system that is called into play, while the endurance system is relied on to recovery the anaerobic stores used during such effort. It is thus important for coaches to keep in mind that, while the anaerobic alactic system is the most energetic system used during periods of exertion in a table tennis game, a strong capacity for endurance is what helps a player recover quicker for the following match and the next day of competition. This paper provides a review of specific studies that relate to competitive table tennis, and highlights the need for training and research programs tailored to table tennis. © Journal of Sports Science and Medicine.

Tennis, incidence of URTI and salivary IgA

Tennis played at an elite level requires intensive training characterized by repeated bouts of brief intermittent high intensity exercise over relatively long periods of time (1 - 3 h or more). Competition can place additional stress on players. The purpose of this study was to investigate the temporal association between specific components of tennis training and competition, the incidence of upper respiratory tract infections (URT1), and salivary IgA, in a cohort of seventeen elite female tennis players. Timed, whole unstimulated saliva samples were collected before and after selected 1-h training sessions at 2 weekly intervals, over 12 weeks. Salivary IgA concentration was measured by ELISA and IgA secretion rate calculated (mug IgA x ml(-1) x ml saliva x min(-1)). Players reported URTI symptoms and recorded training and competition in daily logs. Data analysis showed that higher incidence of URTI was significantly associated with increased training duration and load, and competition level, on a weekly basis. Salivary IgA secretion rate (S-IgA) dropped significantly after 1 hour of tennis play. Over the 12-week period, pre-exercise salivary IgA concentration and secretion rate were directly associated with the amount of training undertaken during the previous day and week (p < 0.05). However, the decline in S-IgA after 1 h of intense tennis play was also positively related to the duration and load of training undertaken during the previous day and week (p < 0.05). Although exercise-induced suppression of salivary IgA may be a risk factor, it could not accurately predict the occurrence of URTI in this cohort of athletes.

The Get Marketer Challenge Innovation: Challenging students using a tournament style competition

This paper presents an assessment innovation which used a tournament style competition to challenge and engage first year marketing students. The course-wide competition required student teams to solve real-world marketing problems for industry sponsors. Student feedback reflects enjoyment of the task and the competition, with students welcoming the opportunity to put theory into practice. Student attendance in the lectures and tutorials involving team presentations was improved. This structure can be adapted for any course with large enrolments. We recommend that instructors adopting a tournament structure consider grading mechanisms that promote equal effort and additional rewards, such as bonus marks, for teams progressing in subsequent rounds.

Synopolies: The use of cryptographic technologies to impede competition in multiple jurisdictions

Many jurisdictions have developed mature infrastructures, both administratively and legislatively, to promote competition. Substantial funds have been expended to monitor activities that are anticompetitive and many jurisdictions also have adopted a form of "Cartel Leniency Program", first developed by the US Federal Trade Commission, to assist in cartel detection. Further, some jurisdictions are now criminalizing cartel behaviour so that cartel participants can be held criminally liable with substantial custodial penalties imposed. Notwithstanding these multijurisdictional approaches, a new form of possibly anticompetitive behaviour is looming. Synergistic monopolies („synopolies‟) involve not competitors within a horizontal market but complimentors within separate vertical markets. Where two complimentary corporations are monopolists in their own market they can, through various technologies, assist each other to expand their respective monopolies thus creating a barrier to new entrants and/or blocking existing participants from further participation in that market. The nature of the technologies involved means that it is easy for this potentially anti-competitive activity to enter and affect the global marketplace. Competition regulators need to be aware of this potential for abuse and ensure that their respective competition frameworks appropriately address this activity. This paper discusses how new technologies can be used to create a synopoly.

Competition laws and policies in China and Hong Kong : a tale of two regulatory journeys

Reviews the background to China's enactment of the Anti-Monopoly Law in 2007 and compares the debate surrounding the proposed introduction of similar legislation in Hong Kong. Examines the main issues arising during the Law's 13 year drafting stage, its key provisions and the remaining areas of uncertainty concerning its enforcement. Discusses ongoing efforts to introduce competition law regulations in Hong Kong, the main features of the draft General Competition Law and the shortcomings of its approach to penalties and exemptions.

The economics of credence goods: An experimental investigation of the role of verifiability, liability, competition and reputation in credence goods markets

Credence goods markets are characterized by asymmetric information between sellers and consumers that may give rise to inefficiencies, such as under- and overtreatment or market break-down. We study in a large experiment with 936 participants the determinants for efficiency in credence goods markets. While theory predicts that either liability or verifiability yields efficiency, we find that liability has a crucial, but verifiability only a minor effect. Allowing sellers to build up reputation has little influence, as predicted. Seller competition drives down prices and yields maximal trade, but does not lead to higher efficiency as long as liability is violated.