Performance anxiety is a very common phenomenon in the sporting context, particularly in high-level competitions, where the psychological and emotional demands are extremely high, as they generate a high level of stress, forcing athletes to develop effective strategies to cope with these situations whilst maintaining optimal performance. In this regard, if pre-competition anxiety is not managed properly, it can negatively affect both the individual’s immediate performance and their long-term sporting development (Nogueira et al., 2025; and Li et al., 2025).
From a psychological perspective, the way in which athletes mentally assess competitions and their process plays a key role in selecting strategies. Factors such as perceived control and emotions such as arousal have been significantly linked to active coping strategies, whilst, in contrast, variables such as gender or the type of sport the athlete practises also influence the preference for certain strategies. This is why, although these strategies are universal, they depend on the specific interaction between the personal, emotional and contextual variables experienced by the athlete (Nogueira et al., 2025).
From this perspective, integrative models stand out for understanding performance anxiety, such as the risk and protective factors model, which highlights psychological resilience, whilst coping strategies act as modulators. In this regard, the use of positive strategies helps to reduce the negative impact of pressure and anxiety. Among others, strategies based on inhibitory recovery are also valued, as they enable the generation of new responses to difficult situations and promote better emotional regulation and a greater focus on performance (Li et al., 2025; Brevers and Philippot, 2023).
Likewise, physiological regulation strategies, such as slow, controlled breathing, are key to reducing anxiety and improving concentration, as they establish patterns for generating a sense of inner calm. Similarly, contextual factors can contribute to reducing pre-competition anxiety and promoting somewhat more adaptive emotional states (Cardozo et al., 2025; Miglaccio et al., 2023).
Methodology
This research is based on a literature review using a systematic compilation of data to analyse the strategies for managing performance anxiety in athletes.
In order to focus on the topic, keywords have been established to help define it: ´sports´, ´anxiety´ and ´strategies´.
The following scientific research engines were used to collect information: Web of Science.
The inclusion criteria are explained below:
- Relevance to the research topic: articles related to strategies to manage anxiety.
- Date: articles published between 2021 and 2026 will be selected.
- Language: topics in Spanish, Portuguese and/or English will be analysed.
- Discipline: studies within the fields of psychology and sports science will be considered
The exclusion criteria are explained below:
- Relation to the research topic: studies outside the defined scope of mental health, anxiety and sport will not be considered.
- Date: studies published before 2021 will be rejected
- Language: articles not written in Spanish and/or English will not be analysed.
- Discipline: studies belonging to disciplines other than psychology or sport science will not be considered.
- Population:
The selection process was carried out in several stages. First, titles and abstracts were screened to assess their relevance according to the established criteria. Subsequently, full-text articles were reviewed to confirm eligibility. Studies that did not meet the criteria were excluded at each stage.
Data extraction focused on identifying key variables, including type of anxiety addressed, population characteristics (e.g., type of athlete, level of competition), intervention or strategy used, and reported outcomes.
Finally, a qualitative synthesis of the selected studies was conducted, allowing for the identification of common patterns, effective strategies, and gaps in the current literature.
Results
The analysis of the selected studies reveals a set of converging strategies for managing performance anxiety in athletes, which can be grouped into four main dimensions: psychological coping strategies, physiological regulation techniques, therapeutic interventions, and recovery-oriented approaches.
First, a consistent pattern across the literature highlights the relevance of coping strategies and psychological resilience. Studies such as Li et al. (n = 2,056 athletes) and Nogueira et al. (n = 383 athletes from swimming, running, handball and volleyball) emphasise the role of cognitive and behavioural coping mechanisms prior to competition. These include attentional control, cognitive reframing and pre-performance routines, which contribute to reducing anticipatory anxiety and improving emotional regulation. Importantly, these strategies are not isolated techniques but are closely linked to the development of psychological resilience, suggesting that anxiety management is more effective when integrated into broader adaptive processes.
Second, the literature identifies physiological regulation strategies, particularly breathing-based interventions, as a key mechanism for anxiety reduction. The study by Cardozo et al. (n = 17 CrossFit athletes) demonstrates that controlled breathing techniques contribute to autonomic regulation, reducing physiological arousal associated with anxiety. These findings reinforce the neurophysiological perspective that managing bodily activation is a prerequisite for cognitive control under pressure.
Third, therapeutic approaches, such as exposure-based interventions, emerge as structured methods for addressing performance anxiety. Brevers and Philippot highlight the effectiveness of exposure therapy in elite sport contexts, allowing athletes to progressively confront anxiety-provoking situations. This approach shifts the focus from avoidance to adaptation, promoting long-term emotional regulation rather than short-term symptom reduction.
Finally, recovery and post-performance strategies are identified as an additional dimension in anxiety management. The work of Migliaccio et al. suggests that recovery processes—both physical and psychological—play a critical role in preventing the accumulation of stress and anxiety over time. These strategies include rest, active recovery and mental disengagement, which contribute to maintaining emotional balance across competitive cycles.
Across studies, a transversal finding is that effective anxiety management does not rely on a single strategy but on the integration of multiple approaches. Psychological, physiological and behavioural strategies operate in a complementary manner, indicating that performance anxiety should be addressed through multidimensional interventions rather than isolated techniques.
Discussions and conclusions
The findings of this review suggest that performance anxiety in athletes is not effectively managed through isolated techniques, but rather through the integration of multiple complementary strategies operating at different levels: cognitive, physiological, behavioural and systemic.
A first key insight is the central role of coping strategies and psychological resilience. Evidence from Li et al. (Li et al., 2023) and Nogueira et al. (Nogueira et al., 2022) indicates that anxiety management is closely linked to athletes’ capacity to regulate thoughts and behaviours prior to competition. However, this relationship should not be interpreted simplistically. The data suggest that coping strategies are not inherently effective; rather, their effectiveness depends on their integration within broader adaptive capacities such as resilience (Li et al., 2023). This implies that interventions focusing exclusively on techniques without addressing underlying psychological resources may have limited impact.
A second relevant dimension is physiological regulation, particularly through breathing techniques, as highlighted by Cardozo et al. (Cardozo et al., 2021). These strategies appear to play a stabilising role by reducing autonomic activation. However, their function should be critically interpreted: they are not solutions to anxiety per se, but facilitators that enable better cognitive and behavioural regulation. Over-reliance on physiological control may even become counterproductive if athletes develop avoidance patterns aimed at eliminating anxiety rather than tolerating it (Cardozo et al., 2021).
This leads to a third, more structurally significant finding: the relevance of exposure-based approaches, as discussed by Brevers and Philippot (Brevers & Philippot, 2021). Unlike coping or breathing strategies, exposure does not aim to reduce anxiety immediately, but to modify the athlete’s relationship with anxiety. This distinction is critical. While short-term regulation strategies address symptoms, exposure targets underlying mechanisms such as avoidance and fear conditioning (Brevers & Philippot, 2021). The absence of detailed methodological data limits strong claims, but conceptually this approach represents a shift from control-based to adaptation-based models.
Additionally, recovery strategies, as suggested by Migliaccio et al. (Migliaccio et al., 2022), introduce a systemic perspective. Anxiety is not only a situational phenomenon but also accumulative. Without adequate recovery, athletes may enter competitions with elevated baseline stress levels, reducing their capacity to implement any psychological strategy effectively (Migliaccio et al., 2022). This highlights a blind spot in many interventions: they focus on competition moments while neglecting the broader training-recovery cycle.
Across all studies, a consistent pattern emerges: no single strategy is sufficient in isolation. Instead, effectiveness appears to depend on the alignment between the type of strategy and the nature of the anxiety (cognitive vs somatic, acute vs chronic, situational vs structural).
However, the strength of these conclusions is constrained by several limitations. First, there is a clear heterogeneity in sample sizes, ranging from large-scale studies (Li et al., 2023) to highly specific samples (Cardozo et al., 2021), which affects generalisability. Second, the absence of detailed methodological information (study design, measures, effect sizes) prevents a rigorous evaluation of evidence quality. Third, the reliance on a single database (Web of Science) may have restricted the scope of the review.
This study demonstrates that performance anxiety management in athletes should be conceptualised as a multilevel and integrative process, rather than a set of isolated techniques.
From a practical perspective, anxiety management programmes in sport should be structured across different phases (pre-, during and post-competition) and tailored to individual athlete profiles. From a research perspective, there is a clear need for more rigorous and comparable studies, particularly those that allow for the evaluation of causal relationships and effectiveness across different sports and competitive levels.
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