Sociology of sporting activities can be regarded as a branch of sociology that incorporates sports into the social and cultural life of people. Culture, in this case, could be viewed as the manner of life for different people as they take part in society. Society, on the other hand, is a group of people that are domiciled in a specific geographic location. A common factor unites these people, and they more or less share a similar identity. Tennis is a sport which acts as a sub-field in sociology as it derives its meaning from the daily lives of people. According to Hartmann (2017), different cultures and societies hold different perceptions about tennis as a sporting activity giving it the basic ground to be studied as a sociological topic. This sporting activity could also be connected with key domains of social life such as education, family, politics, media, and religion. Since this activity is affected by the mannerisms of livelihood in different people, it fully categorizes itself as a sociological field. Sociology in tennis denotes that players require more than just their natural ability to grow in this sport. Environmental impact acts as a crucial tool in shaping a player's career. Most players derive different outputs and reactions from the game based on their motivation when playing (Konje & Meier, 2019). A player's growth and output will be determined by how they perceive and receive the influences from their immediate environment.
Literature Review
Sociology can be explained from different angles and different thematic areas. Socialization, a theme in tennis sociology, could be viewed as the way people interact with each other in developing their social lives. Individuals get to understand their various roles in society, and by learning from other peoples' social lives, they can accomplish these roles effectively. Konjer & Meier (2019) studied the socialization of Sweden's top tennis players and concluded thatsuccess in tennis is not reliant on talent alone. This study found out that the innate characteristics of a person, combined with experiences and good culture in tennis is what hugely contributed to success in this sport. A unified system amongst the players plus a supportive community cemented the relationship between players and coaches, guiding them towards the completion of their tennis career.
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Akbar studied how participation in tennis varied across various demographic spheres and came up with the following conclusions. They concluded that the uniform factor that kept all tennis players dedicated and committed to the game was enjoyment (Akbar, 2016). Furthermore, college athletes recorded higher levels of commitment as opposed to recreational athletes. However, enjoyment in recreational athletes was much higher than that in college athletes. In terms of skill level, more skillful players were more committed to the game than beginners and intermediates. In contrast, beginners recorded a higher level of enjoyment than advanced players. These comparisons alone denoted how playing tennis without any commitment provided more pleasure but less reward.
Another study was conducted by Wootenon different experiences of top female tennis players after retiring from the sport. The reports noted that different players didn't feel traumatized after disengaging from the game, but instead, they found it as an opportunity to discover other traditional roles in society (Wooten, 2018). Another sociologist did a study on elite Australian female players and noted the following. Players who had prior plans of retiring found it easier doing so while those who didn't have retirement plans sounded regretful (Cui et al., 2018). However, despite looking regretful, they never made any efforts to go back and continue with their career.
Okmen, a renowned sociologist, explored the experiences of retired tennis professionals from Sweden and noted the following. Many of these ex-professionals felt like much emphasis on performance, excess media exposure, and socialization only restricted to their profession hampered their self-identity (Okmen, 2017). Many of these players, therefore, found retirement as a gracious opportunity to discover theirauthentic self-identity.
Symbolic Interactionism in Tennis
Erving Goffman was the inventor of this theory in sociology, which he formulated mainly through observation and analysis. He would mainly analyze individuals as they interact in different settings and record their reactions in the process. These reactions could be in the form of body language and facial expressions. The major analysis derived from symbolic interaction is how different people are affected by different experiences in their surroundings. This analysis could be narrowed down to how tennis players are affected by the community around them and their resultant reaction.
One arising topic of symbolic interactionism in tennis is the self-identity or personality. In terms of self-identity, many tennis players end up picking the wrong identities in the effort of being accepted. The tennis community will judge you based on how good or bad you perform. When a player feels they are not acknowledged, they tend to adopt different behaviors or pick up different roles, attempting to change their personalities to be accepted (Hartmann, 2017). However, it's pertinent to mention that personality traits can't be changed. A player can only get this acknowledgment by having heightened self-esteem. A player should have the self-belief that they are acknowledged for them to yield the desired results.
Contemporary society also presents a set of barriers that hinder the formation of a veritable self-identity in many players. Certain issues such as racism, sexism, and difference in social groups may affect how a player performs. At times players may be isolated from a particular group due to their class levels. A member from the lower class who is interested in playing tennis might be unable to do so due to low earnings from his sponsors.
Conclusion
Society and culture play a significant role in influencing social development in several fields. Tennis players cannot depend on their natal talents alone to grow to the peak of their careers. They need a positive tennis culture, which is incorporated with these talents to guide them towards that success. Additionally, players who freely participate in the game for recreation derive more pleasure than those who are at it as an obligation. However, recreation players yield trifle results as opposed to professional players. The game can also affect a player's self-identity, and players need to focus on seeking these identities from within. Societal practices have numerous influences in daily life activities, which has been evidenced and ascertained by this paper.
References
Akbar, A. (2016). Examining the Influence of Modified Tennis Equipment on Young Players' Enjoyment, Perceived Competence, and Intention to Participate in Tennis in the State of Kuwait.
Wooten, C. C. (2018). A Heuristic Inquiry into Female Student-Athletes' Experiences of Identity Loss after Retirement from Sport.
Cui, Y., Gomez, M. A., Goncalves, B., & Sampaio, J. (2018). Performance profiles of professional female tennis players in grand slams. PloS one, 13(7).
Okmen, A. S. (2017). Evaluation of the Physical Education and Sports Curriculum in Turkish Schools. Educational Research and Reviews, 12(16), 811-816.
Hartmann, D. (2017). Sport and social theory. The Oxford handbook of sports history, 15-28.
Konjer, M. & Meier, H. E. (2019). Talent alone does not suffice: erotic capital, media visibility and global popularity among professional male and female tennis players. Journal of Gender Studies, 28(1), 3-17.
