Situational and trait determinants of competitive state anxiety

53 participants in a weekend tennis tournament completed the Competitive Short Form of the State Anxiety Inventory and questions about the specific situation (e.g., their chance of winning, presence of an audience) immediately before playing a tournament match. Immediately after the match participants completed outcome measures (e.g., win/loss, the impact of tension upon their performance). Two trait anxiety measures were given in a follow-up. Competitive trait anxiety from the Sport Competition Anxiety Test was the best predictor of state anxiety. Perceived chance of winning was the only situational factor which was significantly related to state anxiety. Match outcome was also more closely related to competitive trait anxiety than to state anxiety or generalized trait anxiety. The trait-anxiety measure which focused upon competition was a more useful predictor of state anxiety than the generalized measure, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory.