Relative Age Effect in Swedish Male and Female Tennis Players Born in 1998–2001

• The relative age effect (RAE) has been extensively debated and researched in both popularmedia and academic discourse. This study examined RAE in Swedish tennis players born in1998–2001. The study was conducted in 2015–2016 and includes all ranked Swedish tennis players(n = 1835) registered in the Swedish Tennis Association database from the year 2014. The resultsshow that when the birth dates of the corresponding Swedish population and all the ranked playersare compared, they show a moderate RAE; however, the higher up they are in the ranking system,the greater the RAE becomes. Top 10 players display an average of 64.1% being born in the firsthalf of the year. Some gender differences were also found, with a greater proportion of bothhigher and lower ranked females being born in the first half of the year. In our discussion ofthe findings we raise several issues that need to be addressed to provide more equal opportunitiesfor all junior players regardless of birth date. Resolving ongoing problems associated with RAEin competitive sports such as tennis is important both in term of prolonged participation in thesport and increased performance. Suggestions made in this article include recognising RAE whendesigning the format of competitions/tournaments, not using official rankings until the juniorsget older, addressing RAE in a “gender sensitive” way, and conducting further in-depth studiesin which RAE is understood/examined as being associated with environmental factors. Althoughthese findings show the RAE effect in Swedish tennis players, thus pointing at the need for furtherconsideration in terms of ranking and selection procedures to ensure equal opportunities for playerdevelopment, the study also concludes by reasserting an emphasis on a holistic approach to playerdevelopment in which coaches focus on the developmentally appropriate needs and potential of eachindividual player regardless of their biological age.

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap -- Idrottsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences -- Sport and Fitness Sciences (hsv//eng)

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Idrottsvetenskap

Sport Science

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