Author(s)

Zhenyu Zhang

Corresponding Author

Zhenyu Zhang

Abstract

Tennis players under high-pressure situations face complex decision contexts, and working memory capacity shows a clear influence on their decision outcomes. High-pressure states increase the mental burden of athletes and may disturb the way they process incoming information, which leads to decision bias during performance. This study aims to examine how working memory capacity affects the decision process of tennis players when they are in high-pressure situations. Through experimental design, different levels of tennis players completed working memory tests together with decision-making tasks, and their performance was analyzed under both high-pressure and regular conditions. Results from statistical analysis showed that athletes with larger working memory capacity could integrate information more effectively under stressful settings, and they tended to produce better decisions. Athletes with smaller working memory capacity showed more frequent decision bias, such as wrong selections and missed timing. The study indicates that improving working memory capacity can enhance decision performance under high pressure, and this offers a new view for research within sport psychology while also providing direction for training and psychological skill development among tennis players.

Keywords

High-pressure Situations; Tennis Players; Working Memory Capacity; Sport Decision Making; Mental Burden