Psychological determinants of technical and tactical solutions in tennis

Abstract

Purpose: to identify and theoretically substantiate the psychological determinants that affect the formation and implementation of technical and tactical decisions in tennis. Material and methods. The research methods included expert assessment, system analysis, the method of included pedagogical observation, content analysis of video materials of matches, the method of logical and structural-functional modeling, psychological methods (the Spielberger-Hanin Situational and Personal Anxiety Scale (STAI) and the method of assessing stability and concentration of attention (Schulte tables)). The assessment of changes was carried out on the basis of a comparative analysis of psychological indicators and features of technical and tactical decisions of tennis players in different game situations, which corresponds to the theoretical and analytical nature of the study. The study involved 16 professional tennis players who were in the top 100 of the ATP and WTA world rankings at the time of the study. All athletes had significant experience of participating in international competitions of the highest level and were in a period of active competitive activity. The age of the participants was from 19 to 32 years, which corresponds to the period of maximum sports realization in professional tennis. The average age of the athletes was 24.6 ± 3.8 years. The sample was characterized by a high level of technical and tactical preparedness, which made it possible to minimize the impact of technical factors on the results of the study and focus the analysis on the psychological determinants of technical and tactical decision-making in difficult game situations. The study was conducted for 6 months - from January to June 2025 and was analytical and observational in nature. The basis of the study was: international competitive grounds of professional tennis; training camps and training of professional tennis players; official matches of the ATP and WTA series. During this period, matches played on different types of surfaces (hard, clay, grass) were used for analysis, which made it possible to take into account the variability of playing conditions. More than 120 competitive sets and about 1,800 game rallies in key game situations were analyzed. Results. It has been established that with the increase in the importance of game situations in professional tennis, there is an increase in situational anxiety and a deterioration in concentration with the relative stability of personal anxiety. It has been found that these psychological changes are accompanied by a decrease in the share of active technical and tactical decisions and an increase in the share of safe actions, as well as a reorientation of strike directions towards the most reliable areas of the court. The results obtained confirm that psychological determinants primarily affect the tactical decision-making mechanism in critical game situations, and not the technique of performing blows. Conclusions. The study showed that the key factor in changes in the technical and tactical behavior of tennis players in competitive activities is the level of situational anxiety and the associated changes in concentration, which increase in critical game situations. It has been established that under the influence of psychological pressure, there is a decrease in the variability and riskiness of tactical decisions and a reorientation of the game to safer and spatially reliable options. The results obtained confirm the expediency of purposeful formation of the stability of attention and decision-making skills under pressure as a component of the modern system of training professional tennis players.