Motivation in competitive tennis: Is it different for girls and boys?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52383/itfcoaching.v26i76.162Keywords:
tournament, participation, cooperation, competitionAbstract
In the exciting world of sport, tennis is a game that appeals equally to ladies and to gents. There’s even a mixed doubles event with a tradition of over a hundred years, today carrying a prize cheque worth a hundred thousand pounds for the winning pair at Wimbledon. While Wimbledon doubles and singles draws are the same size for ladies and for gents (64 doubles and 128 singles), in the other competitive tennis events – be it pro, junior or veteran – the males competing outnumber dames competing by a sizable margin. The number of male events is higher and their qualification draws are bigger (ITF webpage). Could it be that girls don’t fancy competitive tennis as much as the boys, or is there a different reason for this female underrepresentation? To answer this question, the researcher headed to the Swedish National Junior Championship and asked participants a few simple questions.
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