Pre- and post-competitive anxiety and match outcome in elite international junior tennis players

Abstract

This study aimed to analyse the impact of match outcome (win or lose) in an elite international tennis competition on pre-competitive anxiety and self-confidence. A cohort of Under-16 elite boys (n = 18), with a mean age of 15.44 (0.616) years and an international competitive experience of 4.44 (1.89) years, which were representing six national teams participated in this cross-sectional study. The assessments took part in a qualifying stage of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Junior Davis Cup competition. During the tournament, participants played the best of three set matches. The Competitive State Anxiety Inventory – 2R (CSAI-2R) and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-E) were employed to assess the pre-competitive anxiety before and after the tournament's match. Cognitive and somatic anxiety were slightly higher before than after the matches. No significant differences were found between the pre-and post-match measures. However, significant differences in cognitive anxiety, state anxiety and self-confidence were found when comparing pre-match and post-match values between winners and losers. In this regard, winners showed a significant reduction in state anxiety and cognitive anxiety after the match. According to our results, intervention programmes should incorporate tools that will assist players in their management of anxiety and self-confidence, specifically with those players who lost the match.

Keywords

Psychological pressure,racket sports,self-confidence,youth sport

Introduction

Competition is a crucial element of the sports ecosystem as it has multiple implications for all those involved.¹ In the case of athletes, regardless of their level of performance, the relevance of this specific situation conveys positive and negative experiences and moods that arise from their perceptions about the meaning of this event and its consequences. In this context, one of the most frequent experiences is anxiety.²

In the sports environment, anxiety is considered a construct defined as a response of emotional nature to a perceived threat that combines physiological arousal and cognitive concerns.³ When applied to a competitive setting, it can be distinguished between a disposition of the personality (which is relatively stable) labelled as trait anxiety,⁴ and the symptoms felt during a given competition, called state anxiety.⁵ Cognitive anxiety is characterised by negative expectations about success or self-evaluation, negative thoughts, loss of self-esteem, negative self-talk, fear of failure, low self-confidence, worries about performance, images of failure, inability to concentrate and disrupted attention.^6–8 Somatic anxiety is associated with autonomic arousal such as increased heart rate or muscular stiffness, which can also induce negative symptoms such as feelings of nervousness, difficulty of breathing, high blood pressure, dry throat, muscular tension, rapid heart rate, sweaty palms and butterflies in the stomach.^6,8,9 Self-confidence, refers to individuals’ belief in ability to control themselves and environment,⁶ is also studied in this construct as a component that assesses the athlete's global perceptions of achievement.¹⁰ Specifically, in tennis players, the physiological response of anxiety would be characterised by an activation of the sympathetic nervous system (via hypothalamus) that increases heart rate, dilates coronary arteries, constricts abdominal arteries, dilates pupils and bronchial tubes, increases the strength of skeletal muscle, releases glucose from the liver, increases mental activity, dilates arterioles deep in skeletal muscles and increases basal metabolic rate.¹¹ Thus, the study of cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety and self-confidence before competition give us information about the pre-competition anxiety of athletes.¹²

Due to its relationship with sport performance, cognitive anxiety and self-confidence have attracted the attention of both researchers and practitioners.^13–20 Thus, previous studies have investigated the pre- and post-competitive anxiety in athletes. Winner young male soccer players were found to exhibit significantly lower cognitive anxiety and cortisol (a hormone that is released in response to stress or fear by the adrenal glands) as well as higher self-confidence and oxytocin level values than losers.²¹ In the tennis context, winning collegiate players showed significantly higher self-confidence, lower cognitive and somatic anxiety levels and lower total mood disturbance scores than the losers.²² These differences have also been extrapolated to physiological variables such as heart rate variability (HRV). Junior elite players who lost their matches showed an HRV = 5.2% after the match compared with winners who averaged HRV = 11.3%.²³ This suggests that post-match losers had a more elevated sympathetic tone than their winning counterparts.²³ In doubles tennis, winners of doubles matches had significantly higher self-confidence scores than losers.²⁴ Results followed the same trend as in single tennis, where winners exhibited significantly lower competitive anxiety and higher self-confidence scores than losers.²⁴

Similar results have been found between male and female tennis players in cognitive anxiety, self-confidence and even cortisol patterns before the competition.²⁵ However, the results of a study conducted with tennis players with a mean period of practicing greater than 10 years, showed that those who lost their match showed significantly higher somatic anxiety levels and cortisol concentrations than winners.²⁵ Similarly, high-level female loser players, regularly involved in Under-14 tennis competition on the national and international level (i.e. International Tennis Federation (ITF) and Tennis Europe tournaments) and were of similar competitive level (i.e. national ranking between 5 and 20), showed higher salivary cortisol levels on match days than winners.²⁶

From a practical perspective, previous studies have developed specific mental skills training programmes to assist players in dealing with pre-competitive anxiety. Specifically, Mamassis and Doganis²⁷ carried out a case study with 5 junior tennis players classified before the start of the study in the best 25 in Greece, to investigate the influence of a mental training programme on the pre-competitive anxiety and self-confidence levels, being exposed in addition to their tennis practice to five different psychological skills (goal setting, positive thinking and self-talk, concentration and routines, arousal regulation techniques and imagery). They concluded that it helped players in achieving improvements in their overall performance.

The studies presented above show that anxiety, and specifically pre-competitive anxiety has gained attention from research due to its impact on sport performance. Despite the relevance to tennis, the interaction between match outcome and anxiety in youth tennis players has been poorly studied. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the impact of the match outcome (win or lose) in an elite international tennis competition on the pre-competitive anxiety and self-confidence. We hypothesised that (1) In individual matches, no significant differences would be found between pre and post-assessments in cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety and self-confidence in tennis players. (2) In individual matches, tennis players who won the match would exhibit lower somatic anxiety and cognitive anxiety as well as higher self-confidence than looser players after playing the match. (3) Before the matches, lower values of cognitive anxiety and somatic anxiety as well as higher values of self-confidence would be exhibited in the doubles matches than in individual matches.

Materials and methods

Participants

A total of 18 boys playing in the 16 and Under age group took part in this cross-sectional study. The players had a mean age of 15.44 (0.616) years and an experience of 4.44 (1.89) years of international competition. Research procedures were approved by the University of Extremadura ethics committee (approval number: 112/2021). The parents or guardians of the players signed a consent form to participate in this study, received details of their required involvement and about their right to withdraw. Table 1 summarises the main characteristics of tennis players.

Table 1.

Characteristics of tennis players.

Variable	Mean (SD)
Age (years)	15.44 (0.62)
Height (cm)	182.22 (7.82)
Weight (kg)	68.22 (6.61)
Body mass index (kg/m²)	20.58 (1.92)
National competition experience (years)	7.22 (1.99)
International competition experience (years)	4.44 (1.89)
Number of training days/week	5.83 (0.62)
Number of training hours/day	3.42 (0.92)

Procedure

Participants were evaluated before and after the tennis matches during the prestigious boys’ team competition, the 2021 Borotra Cup Tennis Europe U16, which is considered the qualifying stage of the ITF's Junior Davis Cup, being a competition with potential high levels of pressure for tennis players. They were members of the six national teams representing six different countries (Spain, France, Portugal, Estonia, Greece and Slovenia) who participated in this competition. The teams faced each other in a series of ties involving two singles matches and one doubles match, played at the best of three sets, with two to three players taking part per team. A total of 33 match records were registered of matches played by 18 players of the 6 national teams.

Anxiety and self-confidence were assessed before and immediately after the match. In the case of players who played more than one match on the same day, the second match was analysed only when the time between the two matches was longer than 2 hours, otherwise the second match was not analysed. Participants did not take any drug, drink or any other substance which could affect their nervous system 24-h before undergoing the protocol.

Instruments

The Competitive State Anxiety Inventory–2R (CSAI-2R)¹² was used to assess the pre-competitive anxiety of the participants. This tool has been extensively used to analyse cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety and self-confidence in the sports context²⁸ It has been used specifically with competitive tennis players,²⁹ or even in other stressful contexts, such as fighter pilots.³⁰ The English,¹² Spanish,³¹ French³² and Portuguese³³ versions of this questionnaire were used for players of these nationalities. However, the English version was used for Estonian, Greek and Slovenian tennis players. Nevertheless, international players are used to this language during the international junior circuit. All players indicated that they understood the tool and were comfortable providing their answers. This questionnaire has 17 items, where cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety and self-confidence can be extracted. Each of the items is assessed using a Likert response format, with four alternatives on a 4-point from ‘not at all’ to ‘very much so’. The Cognitive Anxiety subscale has been designed to assess the negative feeling about the performance and the consequences of the performance. It contains five items and an overall score ranging from 5 to 20 points. The Somatic Anxiety subscale is composed of seven items which refer to the perception of physiological anxiety indicators such as muscle tension, increased heart rate, sweating and stomach discomfort. The minimum score is 7 and the maximum is 28. Furthermore, this inventory integrates a self-confidence subscale, which estimates the athletes’ degree of confidence about their success in the competition. For this purpose, five items are used, which provide an overall score between 5 and 20.

Anxiety was also measured by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-E).³⁴ This questionnaire consists of two scales: A-Trait (A-T) and A-State (A-S) with 20 items each. The 40 questions of the STAI-E are rated on a Likert scale from 0 (almost never) to 3 (almost always). The first scale, A-T, describes how the participant feels at a ‘particular moment’. It indicates a relatively stable anxious propensity, where the tendency to perceive situations as threatening and to consequently raise his A-S is observed. The second scale, A-S, describes a transient emotional state or condition of the human organism, characterised by subjective, consciously perceived feelings of tension and apprehension, as well as hyperactivity of the autonomic nervous system, which can vary over time and fluctuate in intensity. The negative scale is subtracted from the positive scale, and 30 is added to the result. It should be noted that in the Spanish version of the STAI used in this study, the response scale has been changed (the original 0–4 has been reduced to 0–3), affecting only the averages (means), which are reduced by 20, so that the values of the Spanish version plus 20 points are included here. This change has not affected the other statistics (SD, reliability, correlation indices, etc.), and they can be compared directly with other versions. The score range for the test is 20–80, indicating a higher level of anxiety a higher score.³⁴ The approximate time for completing both questionnaires was around 10 min.

Statistical analysis

Statistical analysis was conducted using the SPSS statistical package (Statistical Package for Social Sciences, version 25 for Windows, IBM Corporation, Armonk, NY, USA). Following the results of the Shapiro–Wilk test, non-parametric tests were employed.

Reliability analysis was carried out to check the internal consistency of the questionnaires. A Cronbach's alpha equal to or greater than 0.70,³⁵ as well as the omega coefficient³⁶ were used to verify the internal consistency of the variables used in the research.³⁷ For the McDonald omega coefficient, the established range was between 0 and 1, with the highest values providing the most reliable measurements.³⁷ However, according to Campo-Arias and Oviedo,³⁸ when using the omega coefficient, the value of confidence must be greater than 0.70 to be considered acceptable.

Non-parametric statistics were conducted to explore within- and between-group differences. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to examine the difference between the pre- and post-measures for each variable in the winners and losers players. The differences between the pre- and post-measures for cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety, self-confidence and anxiety were calculated. This difference was used to calculate the Mann–Whitney U test to explore the differences between winners and losers in these variables. Moreover, Mann–Whitney U was conducted to investigate differences between single and doubles matches.

Effect sizes [r] were calculated for the non-parametric tests, which were classified as follows: 0.5 is a large effect, 0.3 is a medium effect and 0.1 is a small effect.^39,40

Additionally, for the study of the psychological profile and perceived stress variables, a bivariate correlation analysis between all these variables was performed using Spearman's correlation thresholds correlation.

Results

Table 2 shows the cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety self-confidence, state anxiety and trait anxiety for pre- and post-match assessments. Higher levels of cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety and state anxiety were observed before the match. Our results indicate an adequate level of internal consistency of the questionnaires, considering the Cronbach's alpha and McDonald omega coefficient values. However, only the somatic anxiety post-match value did not reach 0.70. High values of internal consistency, close to or even, in some cases, higher than 0.90 were found in a significant number of variables.

Table 2.

Descriptive statistics and reliability analysis.

	Variables	M	SD	α	ω
Pre	Cognitive anxiety	1.56	0.59	.86	.88
Post	Cognitive anxiety	1.44	0.53	.87	.88
Pre	Somatic anxiety	1.47	0.44	.77	.79
Post	Somatic anxiety	1.34	0.36	.60	.63
Pre	Self-confidence	3.48	0.57	.89	.89
Post	Self-confidence	3.40	0.72	.88	.89
Pre	State anxiety (positive scale)	0.60	0.50	.84	.86
Post	State anxiety (positive scale)	0.37	0.38	.75	.73
Pre	State anxiety (negative scale)	2.30	0.58	.91	.91
Post	State anxiety (negative scale)	2.25	0.71	.92	.92
	State anxiety trait (positive scale)	0.68	0.37	-	-
	State anxiety trait (negative scale)	2.42	0.47	-	-
	State anxiety trait (total)	26.83	7.05	-	-

M: Mean; SD: standard deviation; α: Cronbach's alpha; ω: omega coefficient.

Table 3 shows descriptive statistics and inferential analysis for anxiety and self-confidence before and after the competition matches. Although the values of state, cognitive and somatic anxiety were higher before than after the competition matches, no significant differences were found between the pre- and post-match measures.

Table 3.

Impact of competition matches on anxiety and self-confidence.

Variables	PreMean (SD)	PostMean (SD)	p-value	Effect size
STAI-E A-S	32.87 (10.37)	31.04 (10.64)	.331	.194
Cognitive anxiety	1.56 (0.59)	1.44 (0.53)	.512	.129
Somatic anxiety	1.47 (0.44)	1.33 (0.36)	.196	.254
Self-confidence	3.48 (0.57)	3.40 (0.72)	.925	.018

STAI-E A-S: State-Trait Anxiety Inventory A-State; SD: standard deviation.

Table 4 shows the differences between tennis players who lost and won their matches. Regarding differences between before and after matches, winners exhibited a significant reduction between in both state and cognitive anxiety. These differences were not in players who lost their match.

Table 4.

Differences in anxiety and self-confidence in boys’ between winners and losers elite international tennis players.

		PreMean (SD)	PostMean (SD)	Pre versus post-measure		Winners versus losersPre		Winners versuslosersPre–post
Variables	p-value	PreMean (SD)	PostMean (SD)	Effect size	p-value	Effect size	p-value	Effect size
Winners	STAI-E A-S	32.85 (9.14)	24.38 (5.84)	.006*	.682	.532	.114	.007*	.527
Losers	STAI-E A-S	35.00 (9.47)	40.89 (9.71)	.236	.395	.532	.114	.007*	.527
Winners	Cognitive anxiety	1.62 (0.61)	1.29 (0.41)	.049*	.492	.892	.024	.036*	.412
Losers	Cognitive anxiety	1.44 (0.57)	1.78 (0.61)	.209	.397	.892	.024	.036*	.412
Winners	Somatic anxiety	1.48 (0.45)	1.25 (0.37)	.282	.269	.889	.025	.632	.093
Losers	Somatic anxiety	1.44 (0.31)	1.37 (0.34)	.523	.201	.889	.025	.632	.093
Winners	Self-confidence	3.51 (0.53)	3.78 (0.40)	.242	.276	.606	.090	.039*	.391
Losers	Self-confidence	3.20 (0.71)	2.98 (0.79)	.171	.433	.606	.090	.039*	.391

STAI-E A-S: State-Trait Anxiety Inventory A-State; SD: standard deviation.

*p-value < 0.05.

Regarding the levels of anxiety and self-confidence before the match, no differences were found between winners and losers. However, significant differences in cognitive anxiety, state anxiety and self-confidence were found when comparing pre-match and post-match values between winners and losers. The winners of the matches showed lower levels of anxiety after the matches than before the matches, while the opposite was true for the losers. Regarding self-confidence, winners showed higher self-confidence after the matches than before the matches, while losers showed lower values after the matches than before the matches.

Table 5 shows the level of pre-match anxiety and self-confidence, depending on whether the match was a single or doubles match. No significant differences were found in any of the anxiety variables, nor in pre-match self-confidence. However, state, cognitive and somatic anxiety showed higher values in singles matches than in doubles matches. Conversely, pre-match self-confidence was higher in doubles matches than in singles matches.

Table 5.

Result-related differences in pre-competitive anxiety and self-confidence in boys’ elite international tennis players in singles and doubles matches.

Variables	SinglesMean (SD)	DoublesMean (SD)	p-value	Effect size
STAI-E A-S	34.33 (10.58)	32.62 (10.54)	0.933	.015
Cognitive anxiety	1.64 (0.57)	1.46 (0.64)	0.363	.160
Somatic anxiety	1.54 (0.43)	1.42 (0.50)	0.233	.214
Self-confidence	3.44 (0.59)	3.46 (0.59)	0.955	.010

STAI-E A-S: State-Trait Anxiety Inventory A-State.

Figure 1 shows the correlations between the different anxiety and self-confidence variables before and after the matches. Trait anxiety correlated with all other pre-match anxiety variables except somatic anxiety. In addition, it also correlated with post-match cognitive anxiety. All pre-match anxiety variables correlated positively with each other, and correlated negatively with self-confidence, except for pre-match somatic anxiety, which did not correlate with self-confidence. Regarding post-match anxiety variables, only state anxiety and cognitive anxiety correlated. Moreover, these two variables negatively correlated with post-match self-confidence.

Figure 1.

Correlations between the pre- and post-competitive values of the variables related to anxiety and self-confidence. The size and the colour of the circle corresponds to the Spearman's Rho correlation value. Higher correlation values would be represented with a sharper and larger circle. Conversely, lower correlation values would be represented by smaller, weaker-coloured circles. While the red circles correspond to the inverse correlations, the blue circles correspond to the direct correlations.

Discussion

This study aimed to analyse the relationships between match outcome and the pre- and post-anxiety and self-confidence levels in elite 16 and Under boys’ tennis players who participated in an international team competition. Results showed that cognitive and somatic anxiety were slightly higher before than after the matches. Both the state (i.e. STAI-E A-S score) and the cognitive anxiety of the winners were lower after than before the match. After the match, losers showed higher levels of anxiety than winners. Moreover, higher levels of self-confidence post-match were observed in match winners than in match losers.

Young elite tennis players who won the match showed significantly lower values of state anxiety and cognitive anxiety and higher values of self-confidence before than after the match. In addition, these players also showed lower values of somatic anxiety after the match, although not with significant differences. Our results are consistent with a previous study conducted with male and female tennis players.²⁵ This study showed that winners had significantly lower cognitive anxiety and higher self-confidence values than losers, while somatic anxiety was significantly higher in the losers, and cortisol concentrations were the highest in the losers.²⁵ Similarly, another study conducted with high-level young female tennis players showed higher salivary cortisol levels for losers than winners on the match day.²⁶ Results are also consistent with the findings of a study that aimed to examine the relationship between self-confidence, anxiety and mood states in collegiate tennis players.²² In this study, the authors suggested that tennis players who won exhibited higher levels of self-confidence as well as lower values of cognitive and somatic anxiety than players who lost the matches.²² However, level of pre-competitive anxiety can be modulated by the experience. In this regard, a previous study focused on tennis players showed that novice players reported less cognitive anxiety, whereas the advanced group exhibited higher self-confidence levels.⁴¹

No significant differences in pre-competitive anxiety and self-confidence before a single or a double tennis match were found in the present study. These results align with a previous study that did not find differences between single and double tennis in terms of anxiety.²⁴ However, previous studies have investigated the influence of team and single sports on anxiety and self-confidence. In this regard, individual sports showed higher values of cognitive and somatic anxiety^42,43 as well as self-confidence than team sports.⁴⁴ Thus, we hypothesised that before double tennis, players would exhibit less anxiety and higher self-confidence than before a single match. However, more studies are needed to explore why in tennis, the effect of being in a team does not translate into emotional results.

Results obtained showed higher anxiety and self-confidence levels before the matches than after the matches. However, no significant differences were found in any of the variables. These results are in line with a previous study carried out with U’12 to U’18 category tennis players, using the CSAI-2R and the STAI-E.²⁹ In this study, no significant differences were found in the state, cognitive and somatic anxiety, as well as in the self-confidence pre- and post-match.²⁹ Moreover, similar values in self-confidence and slightly higher values before than after the game were also reported.

In addition, our results showed significant correlations between competitive anxiety and self-confidence. This finding is supported by a previous study using the CSAI-2R with competitive tennis players.²⁹ In this sense, a study that aimed to assess potential direct and indirect effects of confidence and anxiety dimensions on flow state in a junior tennis competition showed significant positive correlations between self-confidence (intensity and direction) and anxiety symptoms (only directional perceptions) with flow state, with self-confidence being the only significant predictor of flow.⁴⁵ Furthermore, another study reported significant correlations between salivary cortisol, self-confidence and anxiety scores.²⁶ In relation to the above, it is necessary to take into account that the sports psychological profile is able to predict competitive anxiety, moods and self-efficacy scores.⁴⁶ In this regard, self-confidence is the variable that best predicts the sports psychological profile.⁴⁶

Although the methodology and instruments employed have been widely used and validated previously by a significant amount of research, this study is not without certain limitations. One of them is that some players played only one match per round, while others played two matches. Therefore, it might be interesting for future studies to consider the number and result of matches played in the same tie to analyse whether it influences the anxiety and self-confidence of the players. Furthermore, other variables such as the difficulty of matches in terms of time or number of sets, or other types of competitions (e.g. regular ITF competitions) can be analysed in future studies using a similar procedure. On the other hand, it can be noted that anxiety and self-confidence have been measured only through questionnaires, without using other psychophysiological measures that could support the results obtained. Therefore, it would be interesting for future studies to use other tools (e.g. HRV) that would allow us to know the results of other psychophysiological variables that would complement the results obtained in this study.

From a practical perspective, the relevance of interventions focused on reducing pre-competitive and post-competitive anxiety could be relevant for individual sports such as tennis. Thus, a previous study aimed to investigate the effects of a mental training programme as a tool to reduce pre-competitive anxiety and increase self-confidence levels in junior tennis players. The players, in addition to their regular tennis practice, worked on five psychological skills: goal setting, positive thinking and self-talk, concentration and routines, arousal regulation techniques and imagery. Results showed that this intervention significantly improved their overall performance.²⁷ In addition, results from a pilot study showed that seven-session of mindfulness-based interventions could improve the concentration of German tennis players.⁴⁷ Also, imagery could play a significant role in these intervention programmes. In this regard, a previous study showed significant results on cognitive anxiety, self-confidence and perceived stress.⁴⁸ According to our results, intervention programmes should incorporate tools to manage anxiety and self-confidence, specifically in tennis players who lost the match. These programmes can be delivered during on- and off-court sessions to provide the players with the strategies that will assist them in efficiently cope these pressure situations. In this scenario, cooperation between coaches and sports psychologists is recommended to implement targeted intervention programmes as part of the daily routine to navigate through the demands of high-level competitive tennis. In the search for maximum performance, as crucial as improving a forehand, planning the strategy before the game or increasing the power in the service is working on the effective management of anxiety levels and the development of adequate states of self-confidence.

Conclusions

Results showed that cognitive and somatic anxiety were slightly higher before than after the matches. Both the state and the cognitive anxiety of the winners were lower after than before the match. After the match, losers showed higher levels of anxiety than winners. Moreover, higher levels of self-confidence post-match were observed in match winners than in match losers. According to our results, intervention programmes should incorporate tools to manage anxiety and self-confidence, specifically in tennis players who lost the match. These intervention programmes would help tennis players reach maximum performance.

Footnotes

Acknowledgements

This study has been made thanks to the contribution of the International Tennis Federation as well as the Department of Economy and Infrastructure of the Junta de Extremadura through the European Regional Development Fund. A way to make Europe (GR21094). The author SV received the support of a scholarship from the Ministry of Universities of Spain and the European Union (NextGenerationUE) called “Ayuda del Programa de Recualificación del Sistema Universitario Español, Modalidad de ayudas Margarita Salas para la formación de jóvenes doctores” (MS-03).

Author’s contribution

Conceptualisation: J.P.F.-G., S.V., R.M.-G. and M.C.; methodology: J.P.F.-G. and R.M.-G.; formal analysis: J.P.F.-G., S.V., R.M.-G. and M.C.; investigation: R.M.-G. and M.C.; resources: M.C.; data curation: J.P.F.-G. and R.M.-G.; writing—original draft preparation: J.P.F.-G., R.M.-G., S.V. and M.C.; writing—review and editing: J.P.F.-G., R.M.-G., S.V. and M.C.; supervision: J.P.F.-G. and S.V.; project administration: J.P.F.-G.; funding acquisition: J.P.F.-G. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Declaration of conflicting interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the Department of Economy and Infrastructure of the Junta de Extremadura, Universities Ministry of Spain and the European Union (NextGenerationUE) (grant number GR21094, MS-03)

ORCID iDs

Juan Pedro Fuentes-García

Rafael Martínez-Gallego

Miguel Crespo

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