Relationship between social support and athlete’s readiness to return to play sports / Tengku Muhammad Faris Tengku Azharudin Shah and Wahidah Tumijan

Although sports involvement has been extensively proven to have physical and psychological advantages, players often encounter substantial challenges that can impact their readiness for competition, including stress, injuries, and academic pressures. Having the social support of friends, coaches, teammates, and family might enhance individuals’ readiness to compete once more. The goal of this study was to determine the relationship between social support and athlete’s readiness to return to sports within the Faculty of Sports and Recreation athletes from UiTM Seremban 3. Questionnaire methods were utilized to collect data, with a total of 349 participants completing the Athlete’s Received Support Questionnaire (ARSQ) and Psychological Readiness to Return to Sport. The results show a significant relationship between all dimensions of social support and readiness to play (p < 0.001). Emotional support has a significant positive moderate relationship (r = 0.417, p < 0.001). Esteem support has a significant positive moderate relationship (r = 0.419, p < 0.001). Informational support is a positive moderate relationship (r = 0.373, p < 0.001), and Tangible support is a significant positive moderate relationship (r = 0.366, p < 0.001). In conclusion, the data indicates that esteem support and readiness to play sports were connected. The Emotional, Esteem, Informational, and Tangible support significantly contributes to athletes’ readiness, thereby enhancing their performance and overall sports experience, potentially improving performance and well-being overall.