Psychology and behaviour in sport

Novak Djokovic has been disqualified from the 2020 US Open. The Serbinator was caught  hitting a ball at a line judges throat expressing his anger of losing his serve against fourth round opponent Pablo Carreno Busta. 

Djokovic quickly showed he concern for the female line judge as he walked straight up to her. Thankfully, the line judge seemed to be fit and fine even after being struck in the throat. Seeing incidents like this raises the question about tennis players attitude on court. David Nalbandian was also disqualified from Queens after kicking the the line judge in frustration leaving a big cut on his leg. 

According to the New York Times,  ' The figures from the Grand Slam tournaments are from all matches in qualifying, main-draw singles and doubles for a 20-year period — tens of thousands of matches.'

Statistics show that racquet abuse is the most common form of indisciplined behaviour on court. This comes to no surprise as this is the the only equipment they use to hit the ball in court.       

'Men have been fined 646 times for racket abuse and 287 times for unsportsmanlike conduct. Women have been fined 99 times for racket abuse and 67 times for unsportsmanlike conduct during that span.'  This proves that men are more susceptible to inappropriate behaviour on court. 

However, physical abuse is not the only thing we get from players on court, there have also been snips of verbal abuse, particularly at the officials. This is generally to vent their anger out at decision which have gone against them.  Italian Fabio Forgnini was fined $300 during a match at Wimbledon in 2019 for making an extraordinary comment, stating that he wished 'a bomb would explode' at the  All England Lawn Tennis Club he also made offensive comments towards English people. 

Watch here

Nevertheless, there are some people who say that Tennis does have an impact on people with mental health issues. Take the LTA (Lawn Tennis Association) as an example, Briton Harriet Dart says that she has gained more self-confidence out of it 'Tennis has given me a huge amount of self-confidence'  It’s great for a range of ages and abilities, and the social aspect of it plays a big part in its mental health benefits.'

But does this have an influence on the way they behave on court? The answer is yes both positively and negatively. The positive side is when the adrenaline takes over, this is a source of mental energy which enables the mind to rejuvenate the body, to that it can immediately react to the situation. However, there  is a down side to mental health, which is stress. Stress can be an ingredient for an athlete succumbing to pressure, which can then cause them to make bad decisions, particularly if they are not able to deal with it. Take Rory Mcllroy at the 2011 Masters, who had a four-shot lead going into the last day but was not able to close it out and win the Green Jacket and succumbed to pressure of anxiety by having a poor final round.    

This is why some athletes, particularly those who play individual sports have coaches and mentors, to help them prepare mentally for events. The coach hires a psychologist who then works with the athlete and occasionally the coach behind the scenes to get the athlete mentally prepared for the event.  But are coaches and mentors always responsible for the way athletes behave on court? Well, they can be, particularly if they know the athlete inside out.

It is then up to the psychologist to help the athlete overcome the barrier of coping with stress and anxiety, which can prevent players behaving inappropriately on court. For example, shouting out abuse at the umpire if a decision does not go in their favour.  

Psychology means a lot in sport and is how athletes perform at the highest level. It also has an impact on the state of mind that they are in during game time. Athletes who have more practice in psychology tend to succeed more than athletes who don't. According to verywellmind.com,  'Contemporary sports psychology is a diverse field. While finding ways to help athletes is certainly an important part of sports psychology, the application of exercise and physical activity for improving the lives of non-athletes is also a major focus.' This is crucial as it shows that psychology matters to everyone and not just athletes. 

 

        

 

Feature Image: Djokovic by Bosco Cardenas via flickr 

MS Dhoni: A Legend Of the Modern Game

India Independence day 2020 was the day former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni announced his retirement from International Cricket. 

The legendary wicket keeper batsman had played 350 ODI's and scored a total of 10,773 runs for the country, he also featured in 90 Test matches, where he accumulated a total of 4,876 runs.

Unorthodox he may be, but what a player he had become out of it. Having grown up on the streets of Ranchi(city in Jharkand, India) no one expected him to have a successful career as he had, but did he prove everyone wrong. 

December 2004 was the year Dhoni announced himself on the International stage. However it was not the ideal start to his career as re was ran out without facing a ball in his ODI debut match against Bangladesh. However, things did turn around for him following a swashbuckling 148 not out in his fifth ODI against Pakistan at Vishakapatnam in 2005. 

The innings was a trade mark of the kind of player he was, particularly in the first half of his career with his ferocious six hitting ability. This was quickly followed up by another explosive innings of 183 not out against Sri Lanka in Jaipur. This was his second ODI series of his career. Following the early loss of Sachin Tendulkar, Dhoni was promoted to number three in the batting order ahead of skipper Rahul Dravid with India chasing a daunting target of 299runs. Dhoni's 183 not out guided India to yet another win on home soil.               

Another turning point of Dhoni's career came after India's tour of England in 2007, where he was announced as captain of India's T20 World Cup . This was  the hallmark of Dhoni's journey of becoming one of the greatest limited-overs captains of all time,  especially when he and India shocked the world by winning the first inaugural T20 World Cup in South Africa. This was then followed by India's rise to claiming the top spot in the Test rankings in 2009. 

However, this did not satisfy Dhoni's India as the one thing they wanted was that second World Cup. with India being one of three nations to host the 2011 edition along with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, there was a sense of expectation for Dhoni's men to deliver the goods, especially with this being Tendulkar's last chance to add a World Cup to his remarkable career.  Dhoni was in charge of a pretty experienced squad of which included the likes of The Little Master, the explosive Virender Sehwag, veteran off spinner Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina and current Skipper Virat Kohli. Being the number one side in ODI's, India went into the tournament as hot favourites, especially on home soil. 

Having had a torrid Caribbean World Cup campaign in 2007, there was even more pressure on Dhoni's side to make this tournament a memorable one, and boy did they deliver, especially with the form of of Yuvraj Singh, who was named 'Man of the Tournament' for his all-round contribution with 362 runs along with 15 wickets.  

Dhoni has also led Chennai Super Kings to four IPL(Indian Premier League) titles and one Champions League title. One of the reasons as to why the Super Kings have been so consistent in winning those titles and the Champions League is the strong Indian contingent of Dhoni himself, Ashwin, Jadeja who joined in season four, Raina and Harbhajan Singh, who was brought in season ten.        

One of Dhoni's key attributes as a player was the ability to remain calm under pressure, which is what made him such a great captain and player, especially in the one day and T20 formats. He was also a good reader of the game and knew what decisions to make at the right time. Even when Kohli took over the role of captaining the white ball side, Dhoni was still in charge of setting the fields and giving instructions to the bowlers. 

During India's tour of South Africa, the stump mics caught footage of the former Indian skipper giving advice to the bowlers on what to bowl and when. These were signs of Dhoni reliving his days as captain even though he handefCup came around, despite Dhoni's best efforts to help India try and win the semi-final against New Zealand at Old Trafford, you could see that the veteran Keeper-batsman looked burned out of International Cricket, especially after an incredible 15-year journey.      

  

Feature Image: MS Dhoni by Khabari Londa via Flickr, Creative Commons