Competitive Achievement May Be Predicted by Executive Functions in Junior Tennis Players: An 18-month Follow-up Study

This study evaluates whether high levels of executive function predict competition results 18 months later in junior tennis players. Forty junior tennis players (20 girls, 20 boys; 9-15 years old) who regularly participate in prefecture tennis tournaments were recruited. All participants underwent executive function evaluations (the Design Fluency Task) in July 2015 and their prefecture junior rankings in August 2015 and February 2017 were recorded. As a result, after controlling for age and gender, the future ranking (February 2017) was significantly predicted by performance in the Design Fluency Task (β = -.30, p = .02; ΔR = .08), whereas the prediction for August 2015 rank as the baseline was not significant (β = -.19, p = .17; ΔR = .03). After controlling for age, gender, and ranking in the baseline, the change in ranking was significantly predicted by performance in the Design Fluency Task (β = -.14, p = .02; ΔR = .02). This suggests that childhood executive function may play a significant role in success later in life. This study highlights how executive function predicts future success in a specific sport; as such, supporting the development of executive function may contribute to higher competition results.