Becoming A Professional Tennis Player: The Debate Between Genetics & Deliberate Practice Continues...

The iTPA has been receiving a number of emails regarding the deliberate practice and talent identification question based on a research article posted last week. Here is some more perspective to continue the discussion. Please provide your thoughts and comments on this very important topic for the tennis performance specialist:

The ‘born versus bred’ or ‘nature vs nurture’ question dates back to the 1800s, and the theory of Sir Francis Galton which posited that mental capacities are limited by hereditary factors (Galton 1869, (1). The Galtonian model proposed that practice and training would lead to improvements in performance, but that a ceiling existed for each person, influenced by heritable characteristics (1). In contrast, Ericsson and others (1-3) have suggested that performance is constrained not by genetic or innate factors, but by engagement in deliberate practice and training during optimal periods of development.

Individuals who coach or train tennis athletes are very interested in how much influence a coach actually has on improving an athlete’s performance compared to the athlete’s genetic capabilities. This improvement requires a multitude of factors to contribute to success. Unfortunately, the mass media has jumped on singular statements and have either overemphasized or underemphasized certain research studies or concepts without taking into account the uniqueness of the human spirit, human biology, family and social support, and a number of other factors (including genetics) in the determination of elite athletic performance. It is important to stipulate that becoming an expert in a certain skill (think 10,000 hours/10 year rule that has been credited to the work of Ericsson) is not the same as becoming a highly paid professional athlete. Thousands of people (possibly even hundreds of thousands of people) can become experts in a field; only a few hundred can actually become a highly paid professional tennis player. This is where most people misunderstand the bulk of the research surrounding deliberate practice. Just because the athlete puts in the appropriate hours and years of deliberate practice does not mean the athlete will be a successful professional tennis player. However, the athlete will become an expert at his/her craft (tennis). Therefore, it is important to think of deliberate practice as a required component to be successful as an elite tennis athlete, but this is just the starting point. The physical training component and the genetic ceiling that the athlete has is also vitally important for the athlete to become a true elite professional athlete. These factors all need to be part of the equation, as it is very challenging to become a professional tennis athlete. Therefore, like most long term debates in life - the answer lies somewhere in between both perspectives. Great genetics are required (physical, mental and emotional) but the daily deliberate practice combined with the right family/social support and resources (financial and otherwise) are very much required to achieve elite athletic performance on the tennis court. For more information the iTPA has provided a number of research studies related to genetics and talent in elite athletes:

Talent identification and promotion programmes of Olympic athletes.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19787538?dopt=Abstract

Talent identification and deliberate programming in skeleton: ice novice to Winter Olympian in 14 months.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19191166?dopt=Abstract

Genes and human elite athletic performance.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15726413?dopt=Abstract

Genetics of athletic performance.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19630564

Genes and elite athletes: a roadmap for future research.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21540342

Elite athletes: are the genes the champions?
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20308700

What makes a champion? Explaining variation in human athletic performance.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16448865

(1)    Ericsson KA, Nandagopal K, Roring RW. Toward a science of exceptional achievement: attaining superior performance through deliberate practice. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2009;1172:199–217
(2)    Ericsson K, Krampe R. The role of deliberate practice in the acquisition of expert performance. Psychol Rev 1993;100:363–406.
(3)    Duffy L, Baluch B. Dart performance as a function of facets of practice amongst professional and amateur men ana women players. Int J Sport Psychol 2004;35:232–45

Check out the below interesting video clip of a young Rafa Nadal. Would you predict that he would win 7 French Opens and be considered one of the greatest warriors of all time on the tennis court? Also, notice lack of leg drive, rather traditional forehand and somewhat negative body language. This gives every kid out on the courts hope that they can also one day be the greatest clay court player of all time...

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6 Comments

Dan McCain - 14 years ago

Here are a couple studies that may add an interesting twist to that. This one definitely adds to the discussion: http://db.tt/wBR1Rbug
And I think this one is the most powerful statement about talent ID I've ever seen: http://db.tt/5kZp8GgR
Would love to hear your thoughts...

Doug Eng - 14 years ago

I honestly would question the first study. Some of the sampling sizes are small and measured anxieties don't differ significantly for most groups. There could be other factors not mentioned although experience, etc was controlled. There are some notable indications. There is a clear difference between athletes and non-athletes. Baseball players may score lower due to socio-cultural attraction of the game but I wonder if this might be true in other cultures. Also I don't believe it adds to the natural/grown debate. State/Trait anxiety inventory measurements is common.

I left out team/non-team differences which may originally exist as a attraction for the sport. That is, individual sports attract more neurotic, higher anxiety individuals whereas purely team sports attract less...but perhaps the social element is more pressing. But it's not new information.

iTPA - 14 years ago

Dan, Thanks so much for sharing these two very interesting studies. It is very valuable for coaches and trainers to understand that both the physical and personality aspects of young athletes need to be considered. Sometimes you need to consider the source of different studies as well.

Thanks very much for sharing to the iTPA family. It is greatly appreciated.

One problem of these studies is the relative contribution of inherent physical skills, acquired physical skills and mental skills. In addition, the pool of competitors is also a factor. Therefore, for a less popular sport such as skeleton, it is more probable than someone can be programmed to become an Olympic champion. Along a spectrum of sport or skill acquisition, perhaps a sport like the 100m or 200m sprint could be considered as most physical talent but we also clearly see a cultural effect since Jamaica, Bahamas and other Carribbean nations have a disproportionate number of champions. Chess, if regarded as a sport actually slightly disproves the 10,000 hour rule but rather shows the most mentally talented can spend 6,000 hours to achieve what some require 25,000 hours within the top 0.25% percentile of competitors. That is, perhaps within the 0.25% percentile of a sport, the athlete who reaches there might actually spend less time with deliberate practice than many athlete who only reaches the top 0.50% (in tennis, 0.25% equal to currently playing on the tour...based on ca 125 American men playing out of perhaps 50,000 competitive USTA male players within prime age groups) In other words, a genetic factor.

Jeff Moore - 12 years ago

Dan, Thank you for sharing these studies. There is a lot of misinformation out there. Unfortunately in the US the 10,000 hour research is being used as a marketing tool. Also, what does 'deliberate' mean? Work ethic by itself is overrated. Players must be committed to competing (with themselves as well as teammates) in practice every day to have any hope of achieving excellence individually...or collectively as a team in college. Nadal insists on total quiet when he trains. How many Americans are willing to turn off the music?

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