This study was conducted to compare the arousal, self-confidence, somatic and cognitive anxiety among Iranian elite male and female table tennis players. The subjects were 40 elite table tennis players (20 men and 20 women, mean age of 22.90 ±4.90 years) who participated in 2016 national qualifying competitions. Arousal and cognitive anxiety levels were measured by "Sport Grid-Revised" (Ward & Cox, 2004), self-confidence and somatic anxiety were measured by two items of the Mental Readiness Form (MRF-3; Krane, 1994), 10 minutes before the scheduled time of the match. Independent sample t-test was used for data analysis. In comparing women with men, results showed that women arousal level was significantly higher and their somatic anxiety was significantly lower than that of men, but there were no significant difference between their self-confidence and cognitive anxiety. However, in comparison between winning and losing groups the results showed that self-confidence and cognitive anxiety in women and men winning groups were significantly higher than the losing groups. These findings demonstrated there were gender-based differences in arousal and somatic anxiety of elite table tennis players before the start of the match, but self-confidence and cognitive anxiety were effective psychological variables on performance during the match.
© Copyright 2017 Proceedings Book of The 15th ITTF Sports Science Congress Düsseldorf, 27th - 28th May 2017. Veröffentlicht von International Table Tennis Federation. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.