Perceived parental expectations and pre-competitive states in adolescent tennis players: a self-determination perspective on the mediating role of basic psychological needs

Background High parental expectations for physical fitness in youth sport may function as social-evaluative stressors. Drawing on Self-Determination Theory, this study examined how such expectations were associated with pre-competitive cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety, and lack of self-confidence through basic psychological need satisfaction.Methods: Participants were 512 adolescent tennis players (Mage = 13.53, SD = 2.01; 47.7% male). They completed validated measures of parental physical fitness expectations, competence, autonomy, relatedness, and pre-competitive psychological states. Structural equation modelling and bias-corrected bootstrapping with 5,000 resamples tested parallel mediation models.Results: Higher parental expectations were associated with lower competence, autonomy, and relatedness satisfaction. For cognitive anxiety, the direct effect was nonsignificant, but the total indirect effect was significant (B = 0.024, 95% BC CI [0.008, 0.049]), primarily through competence. For somatic anxiety, both the direct effect (B = 0.077, β = 0.103) and total indirect effect (B = 0.021, 95% BC CI [0.005, 0.046]) were significant, again primarily through competence. For lack of self-confidence, both the direct effect (B = 0.100, β = 0.129) and total indirect effect (B = 0.025, 95% BC CI [0.008, 0.054]) were significant, with indirect effects through competence and autonomy. Relatedness was not a significant mediator.Conclusion: Competence was the most consistent pathway linking parental physical fitness expectations to all three pre-competitive states, while autonomy additionally contributed to lack of self-confidence. Competence-affirming and autonomy-supportive parental involvement may therefore support adolescent athletes' psychological well-being and competitive resilience.