The relative age effect in sports is the subject of many studies in individual and team sports
worldwide. The scientific field of the relative age effect in Slovenian tennis is still relatively
unexplored. The purpose of this study was to determine the distribution of births by quarters in
each age category in the years 2012 and 2022, as well as to examine the differences in birth
quarters of tennis players within specific age categories in terms of competitive performance
(rankings) in 2012 and 2022. The study included 400 players (200 in 2012 and 200 in 2022). In
each year, we measured the top 50 ranked tennis players in the age categories under 12 years
(n = 50), under 14 years (n = 50), under 16 years (n = 50), and under 18 years (n = 50).
Descriptive statistics and differences between birth quarters of tennis players in terms of
distribution were analysed using a one-way chi-squared test. To analyze differences in birth
quarters' impact on competitive performance, we used the Kruskall-Wallis rank test. All
calculations were performed using SPSS 25 (SPSS Inc., Armonk, NY, USA) and the level of
significance was set at p < 0.05. We found an even distribution of tennis players based on birth
quarters in all examined age categories in 2012 and 2022. There were no statistically significant
differences in competitive performance between birth quarters of tennis players within specific
age categories in 2012 and 2022. The influence of relative chronological age does not appear
to be a significant factor affecting the competitive success of Slovenian tennis players.
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