Enhancing Psychological Skills and Well-being in Sport Through a Blended Intervention: a Controlled Study With Perform-UP Tennis

Primary outcomes

1. The Psychological Inventory of Sport Performance (IPPS-48) was used to assess athletes' mental abilities. The questionnaire included 48 items, divided into eight subscales each reflecting eight mental abilities.

   Time frame: It was assessed at baseline (T0) and after eight weeks, which is at the end of the intervention (T1)

   Each scale included five items, to which the athletes responded on a 5-point Likert scale. The eight subscales reflected the following eight mental abilities: concentration, arousal control, preparation of the match, goal setting, visualization, cognitive anxiety, self-confidence and self-talk. But for this research, the investigators considered only three subscales that were consistent with the activities proposed within the application (breathing and relaxation techniques). The scales considered were: cognitive anxiety, which evaluates the athlete's level of concern during the match, fear of making mistakes, and fear of failing, self-confidence, which evaluates the confidence that the athlete has in being able to compete at his/her best, to give their best and to believe in themselves, emotional arousal control, which evaluates the athlete's ability to relax when he/she feels anxious and under tension and to activate him/herself when he/she needs to reach the right energy level.

2. The Mindfulness Inventory for Sport (MIS) was used to evaluate the awareness processes within the athlete's sports performance. The scale consists of 15 items reflecting three distinct components of mindfulness.

   Time frame: It was assessed at baseline (T0) and after eight weeks, which is at the end of the intervention (T1)

   Each scale included five items, to which the athletes responded on a 5-point Likert scale. It contains both positively and negatively worded items (the non-judgmental subscale was reverse-scored). Specifically, this questionnaire assessed: (1) Awareness, being aware of stimuli and their associated internal reactions, (2) non-judgmental, adopting a non-judgmental attitude towards these stimuli and reactions, (3) refocusing, quickly refocus attention on target signals.