Source
Journal of Sports Sciences, 29, 13, (2011), pp. 1463-1470ISSN
Publication type
Article / Letter to editor

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Organization
SW OZ BSI AO
Journal title
Journal of Sports Sciences
Volume
vol. 29
Issue
iss. 13
Languages used
English (eng)
Page start
p. 1463
Page end
p. 1470
Subject
Work, Health and PerformanceAbstract
In tournaments in various sports that feature one-on-one competition, the trophy is sometimes prominently displayed near the athletes during the final. Based on recent research on subtle reward cues, we propose that such trophies have the potential to induce choking under pressure in the match favourites, who are known to be most at risk. To test this idea, we analysed real-life tennis performance data (service performance and rally performance) from professional tournaments. While favourites generally outperformed underdogs during rallies, they did not do so in finals in which (a) large amounts of money were at stake and (b) a trophy was on display near the court. These findings support the idea that tournament trophies may distract favourites by continuously reminding them of what is at stake, and via that route may severely thwart their performance.
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