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Open research questions in Sport Psychology and Performance

1,137 gap statements mined from Sport Psychology and Performance papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 7,871 papers on the topic — drawn mostly from each paper's own stated research gap, future-work, challenge and limitation notes, and its abstract. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one.

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What the literature leaves open

  • The study faced challenges in terms of the limited sample size and the dependency between dyadic observations. The authors addressed these challenges by using strict inclusion criteria and conducting dependency-aware sensitivity analyses.

    Structural relationships among pair cohesion, tactical communication, and performance in doubles tennis: a structural equation modeling approach · 2026 · DOI

  • Competitive transfer remains to be established. Measurements need to be validated across ages, sexes, maturation stages, parasport, and resource settings. Recovery interventions during congested schedules require further research.

    Editorial: Winning by design: technology-integrated learning, performance, and recovery in team sports · 2026 · DOI

  • However, this interpretation remains preliminary, and causal attribution is limited by the exploratory design and the absence of an active sham-control condition.

    Modulation of neuroendocrine and autonomic responses to competitive stress by slow cortical potentials training in golfers: An exploratory randomized controlled trial · 2026 · DOI

  • Mental practice has been shown to improve motor performance, but its effects in elite sports under constraints remain underexplored.

    Mental practice improves pass accuracy in elite rugby players · 2026 · DOI

  • Sport coaches operate within complex shared environments, yet the functions of social support within their social networks remain underexplored.

    Through the coach’s lens: Exploring social support functions and social networks via photo-elicitation · 2026 · DOI

  • Sport and exercise psychology practitioners (SEPs) are capable of fostering psychological safety and introducing emotional-regulation strategies in competitive sport, yet their role in supporting adolescent mental health in diversionary sport settings has not been extensively investigated.

    Sport and exercise psychologists’ perspectives of supporting adolescent mental health in diversionary sport: A story completion study · 2026 · DOI

  • Action simulation is extensively used in sport, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear.

    Beyond visualization: Elite alpine skiers and coaches’ insights into simulation training · 2026 · DOI

  • While athletic identity, health, and social support are known to influence athletes’ career sustainability, their combined impact on career continuation or retirement remains unclear.

    “Continue or quit?” Configurations of career resources and their association with career termination: a person-oriented study with Swiss elite athletes · 2026 · DOI

  • Future research should examine dynamic resource interactions and the quality of transitions using multi-wave longitudinal designs.

    “Continue or quit?” Configurations of career resources and their association with career termination: a person-oriented study with Swiss elite athletes · 2026 · DOI

  • Sport-based Positive Youth Development (PYD) research has focused on explicit processes, while implicit processes operating through the practice climate remain underexplored.

    Can coach education foster youth flourishing? A multi-informant evaluation of the PREPAR coach education programme in youth rugby · 2026 · DOI

  • Previous research highlighted the prospect of releasing players was a stressor for academy coaches, but academy staff members’ perspectives on the release process remain unexplored.

    “It will never come as a shock”: exploring how staff members experience and perceive the player release process from professional football academies · 2026 · DOI

  • Mental fatigue (MF) impacts sport performance, but limited research has explored its presence and impact in basketball.

    Understanding Mental Fatigue Across the Men’s Basketball Season: A Mixed-Methods Study · 2026 · DOI

  • However, little is known about how technical-tactical performance varies between important and regular points.

    Do important points change the game? Technical-tactical performance in high-level men’s padel · 2026 · DOI

  • While previous studies have examined the influence of task constraints on performance using simple linear models, potential non-linear relationships remain poorly understood, especially in highly complex training contexts such as football goalkeeping.

    The influence of task constraints on football players’ performance: non-linear trends during goalkeeper training · 2026 · DOI

  • Currently, the mental readiness of the athletes remains uncertain due to the long interval since the last regular tournament.

    MENTAL READINESS OF WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL ATHLETES IN BANJARNEGARA REGENCY TO FACE THE 2025 PRA-PORPROV EVENT · 2026 · DOI

  • Despite this, there remains limited literature addressing the philosophical premises relevant to the field, and how to navigate them.

    A revised approach to professional philosophy for sport and exercise psychology practitioners · 2025 · DOI

  • Future research is needed to evaluate players’ and staffs’ perceptions of the implementation and impact of these support recommendations.

    Supporting mental health during professionalisation: Insights from UK women’s domestic cricket · 2025 · DOI

  • The findings underscore the need for further research into the organizational environment to understand and foster culturally appropriate psychological safety and provide tailored support for NRL and NRLW players.

    Exploring stressors in elite rugby league (NRL/NRLW) players · 2025 · DOI

  • Under-explored themes were identified, such as coach turnover and recurring losses.

    Exploring stressors in elite rugby league (NRL/NRLW) players · 2025 · DOI

  • Whilst there is growing recognition of the psychological experiences of both elite and recreational postpartum athletes, little is known about the unique experiences of triathletes seeking to return to sport postpartum.

    Swim-Bike-Mum: Exploring postpartum experiences of triathlete mothers · 2025 · DOI

  • Whilst performing well in these moments of high pressure is a crucial part of athlete performance overall, few studies have qualitatively explored how athletes may perform well in these moments.

    Rising to the occasion: A qualitative investigation of clutch moments in sport · 2025 · DOI

  • The sample size was limited, - Strict inclusion criteria were applied to recruit male collegiate athletes competing at a comparable performance level, - Some participants took part in multiple experimental sessions and were therefore included in multiple…

    Structural relationships among pair cohesion, tactical communication, and performance in doubles tennis: a structural equation modeling approach · 2026 · DOI

  • Competitive transfer remains to be established - Nonsignificant expert differences between simulated and real performances do not demonstrate equivalence - Limitations in study quality - Injuryprediction…

    Editorial: Winning by design: technology-integrated learning, performance, and recovery in team sports · 2026 · DOI

  • However, little is known about how musicians employ mental imagery to manage music performance anxiety (MPA) and whether musicians experience difficulty controlling imagery…

    Intentional Mental Imagery and Music Performance Anxiety · 2026 · DOI

  • Diversionary sport represents a viable and ethically complex context for SEP practice, requiring further research on role clarity, targeted training in adolescent mental health, relational work, and context-specific ethical guidance to support psychologically safe, autonomy-supportive practice.

    Sport and exercise psychologists’ perspectives of supporting adolescent mental health in diversionary sport: A story completion study · 2026 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Sport Psychology and Performance

Most recent work

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Open questions raised by papers listed on this page include: (1) Mental practice has been shown to improve motor performance, but its effects in elite sports under constraints remain underexplored (“Mental practice improves pass accuracy in elite rugby players”, 2026); (2) Sport coaches operate within complex shared environments, yet the functions of social support within their social networks remain underexplored (“Through the coach’s lens: Exploring social support functions and social…”, 2026); (3) Action simulation is extensively used in sport, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear (“Beyond visualization: Elite alpine skiers and coaches’ insights into simulation…”, 2026); (4) While athletic identity, health, and social support are known to influence athletes’ career sustainability, their combined impact on career continuation or retirement remains unclear (““Continue or quit?” Configurations of career resources and their association…”, 2026); (5) Sport-based Positive Youth Development (PYD) research has focused on explicit processes, while implicit processes operating through the practice climate remain underexplored (“Can coach education foster youth flourishing? A multi-informant evaluation of…”, 2026). 1,137 gap statements have been mined from Sport Psychology and Performance papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 7,871 papers on the topic; the gaps come from whichever of those papers state one. They are mostly the research gaps the authors state and the papers' abstracts, plus future-work, limitations and challenges passages. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one, so you can read the original claim in context.

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