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The relative age effect in top 100 elite female tennis players in 2007–2016

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  • Jiří Zháněl
  • Tomáš Válek
  • Michal Bozděch
  • Adrián Agricola

Abstract

The Relative Age Effect (RAE) has been the subject of many studies, but few have focused on professional athletes in individual sports. The aim of this study was to verify the existence of the RAE among elite senior female tennis players (top 100 players) in the WTA Rankings (n = 1000) in the years 2007–2016. The analysis was performed among top 100, resp. top 10 female tennis players, among players in 4 age subgroups and among left-handed (LH) and right-handed (RH) players. The existence of the RAE was assessed with the use of chi-square test (goodness of fit). More than half of top 100 players were born in first semester: both in individual years (53.0–63.0%) and in the whole observed period (58.4%). Significant RAE (ES medium) was observed in top 100 female players only in 2012 and 2016; significant RAE (ES small) was detected in the period of 2007–2016. Among the top 10 players, significant RAE (ES medium) was demonstrated during the whole period. No significant RAE (ES medium) was detected in the 17–18y subgroups, significant in 19–24y and 25–30y (ES small) as well as in 31–36y (ES medium). Although significant RAE was observed in the subgroups of LH and RH female players, ES was large only in the LH. The results contribute to the expansion of the knowledge about the reduction of the RAE existence in adulthood among coaches, athletes and tennis officials.

Suggested Citation

  • Jiří Zháněl & Tomáš Válek & Michal Bozděch & Adrián Agricola, 2022. "The relative age effect in top 100 elite female tennis players in 2007–2016," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(11), pages 1-11, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0276668
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0276668
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Stefanie Doebler & Ian Shuttleworth & Myles Gould, 2017. "Does the Month of Birth Affect Educational and Health Outcomes? A Population-Based Analysis Using the Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 48(3), pages 281-304.
    2. Alfonso de la Rubia & Christian Thue Bjørndal & Joaquín Sánchez-Molina & José María Yagüe & Jorge Lorenzo Calvo & Sergio Maroto-Izquierdo, 2020. "The relationship between the relative age effect and performance among athletes in World Handball Championships," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(3), pages 1-21, March.
    3. Elodie Wendling & Brian M. Mills, 2018. "Mitigation of Relative Age Effects Through Targeted Policy Intervention: A Natural Experiment From Professional Tennis," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 99(4), pages 1496-1509, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Yisheng Aku & Chengbo Yang, 2024. "The relative age effect and its influence on athletic performance in Chinese junior female’ tennis players," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 19(3), pages 1-15, March.

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