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Performing best when it matters most: Evidence from professional tennis

Author

Listed:
  • Olivier Gossner

    (PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, LSE - London School of Economics and Political Science)

  • Julio González-Díaz

    (USC - Universidade de Santiago de Compostela [Spain])

  • Brian W. Rogers

    (Kellogg School of Management - Northwestern University)

Abstract

Stakes affect aggregate performance in a wide variety of settings. At the individual level, we define the critical ability as an agent's ability to adapt performance to the importance of the situation. We identify individual critical abilities of professional tennis players, relying on point-level data from twelve years of the US Open tournament. We establish persistent heterogeneity in critical abilities. We find a significant statistical relationship between identified critical abilities and overall career success, which validates the identification procedure and suggests that response to pressure is a significant factor for success.

Suggested Citation

  • Olivier Gossner & Julio González-Díaz & Brian W. Rogers, 2012. "Performing best when it matters most: Evidence from professional tennis," PSE - Labex "OSE-Ouvrir la Science Economique" hal-00812984, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:pseose:hal-00812984
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2012.09.021
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Performance; Pressure; Heterogeneity; Critical ability; Career success;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D03 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Behavioral Microeconomics: Underlying Principles
    • L83 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Sports; Gambling; Restaurants; Recreation; Tourism

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