Perceived self-efficacy by Under-10 tennis players when scaling the equipment and play area

Abstract

The modification of child-sports aims to develop an optimal learning environment that facilitates the emergence of desirable psychological outcomes (e.g., self-efficacy). The aim of the study was to assess the effect of reducing net height and court size on self-efficacy and shot-efficacy of U-10 tennis players in a real-game context. Twenty U-10 tennis players (M = 9.46, SD = 0.66 years of age; M = 3.65, SD = 1.53 years of tennis experience) played two round-robin tournaments one week apart in the same order and schedule. The first tournament was played under the International Tennis Federation's Tennis 10s regulation at green stage (GT). Afterwards, the modified tournament (MT) was played with the same regulation GT, however, net height (0.91 m-0.80 m) and court size (23.77 m × 8.23 m-18.00 m × 8.23 m) were reduced. Results accomplished using Bayesian and Frequentist inferences showed an increase in players' self-efficacy when serving in MT than GT (BF₁₀ = 4.796; δ = -0.576; and p = .011). This is increase may be due to a reduction in their serving faults in MT (BF₁₀ = 6.169; δ = -0.591; and p = .010). Therefore, reducing net height and court size enhances the serve performance and self-efficacy and thus promotes positive tennis experiences.

Keywords: Child sport; Competition; Modified sport; Nonlinear pedagogy; Positive experiences; Task constraints.