The Effect of Pre-Competition Anxiety on Tennis Accuracy Shot Performance Among Malaysian Varsity Tennis Players

Athletes with high levels of anxiety may take wrong actions and cause athletes to not be able to perform well. Specifically, when pre-competition anxiety problems occur, this situation can affect the accuracy of the shots in tennis. Therefore, this study identifies the effect of pre-competition anxiety on tennis forehand (FH) and backhand (BH) accuracy shots among Malaysian varsity tennis players. This study uses quantitative cross-sectional survey research. This research used the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory (CSAI-2) questionnaire and the tennis forehand (FH) and backhand (BH) accuracy shot instrument to survey 60 respondents utilizing a convenient sampling technique. The descriptive data showed high cognitive and physical anxiety and low self-confidence 24 hours before the competition. Researchers used the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software, version 25, to perform inferential statistical analysis related to the Simple Linear Regression Test and concluded that pre-competition anxiety had a significant impact on tennis forehand (FH) and backhand (BH) accuracy shots, accounting for 10.1% of the variance. These findings imply that an excessive level of pre-competition anxiety has a significant negative impact on tennis forehand (FH) and backhand (BH) accuracy shots. The conclusion is that pre-competition anxiety poses a significant threat to the accuracy of tennis forehand (FH) and backhand (BH) accuracy shot performance. Solutions are desperately needed, such as meditation, self-talk, imagery, and sports massage intervention, which may control pre-competition anxiety and subsequently accurately perform tennis forehand (FH) and backhand (BH) shots.