Investigation of Underlying Psychological Factors in Elite Table Tennis Players

The importance of psychological factors in successful sports performance has been acknowledged both academically and anecdotally. Yet the amount of time that coaches and athletes actually spend on mental practice as compared to physical practice belies its significance. A key component in developing a foundation for psychological intervention programs is to understand the psychological status of athletes. The purpose of this investigation was thus to identify the psychological factors that influence the performance of elite table tennis players in Taiwan. Participants were 130 elite table tennis players (Mean age = 18.73, Mean sport years =10.01, Males = 84, Females = 46), who were recruited during the National Squad Try Out. Two questionnaires designed by the authors were utilized for data collection: a Demographic Information Sheet and a Table Tennis Player Psychological Skills Questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were computed for data analysis. The results indicated that a) “Lacking Confidence”, “Overstress”, and “Unable to Cope with Opponent’s Tactics”, were the top three psychological factors which interfered with the player’s performance during competition. b) “Dwelling on early mistakes”, “Focusing too much on competition outcome”, and “Focusing too much on body mechanics and movements”, were the top three barriers that prevented players from focusing their attention during competition. c) “Worrying about opponent’s ability”, “Perceived low skill”, and “Poor performance before competition” were the top three causes of “Lacking confidence”. d) “Fear in unable to achieve specific goal”, “Too strong desire to win”, and “Expectation of significant others” were the top three causes of “Overstress”. e) “Muscle tensed up”, “Poor technique”, and “Applying inappropriate tactic” were the top three causes of “Unable to cope with opponent’s tactics”. f) “Not feeling good physically”, “No goals”, and “This competition is not important to me” were the top three causes of “Lack of Desire to Win”. g) “Non-optimal condition in training”, “Non-optimal mental preparation and readiness”, and “Don't know how to prepare” were the top three causes of “Poor pre-competitive mental preparation”. h) “Understand coach’s instruction but can’t do it technically”, “Unable to hear coach’s instruction and mind blank during competition”, and “Unable to understand coach’s instruction” were the top three causes of “Problems in following coach’s instruction”.