Pierre Bourdieu was a French social theorist who was one of the first sociologists to take sport seriously as a sociological issue. His framework proposes three concepts—the concepts of habitus, capital, and field—that are related and explain how human action interconnects with forms of structure and influences the choices humans make. Its framework allows sociologists to understand the relationship between sport and the personal dispositions, social contexts and resources of modern sport. His theory has the ability to apply to all sports and is clearly seen in tennis. We see that habitus and capital factors can influence a person's ability to access or continue to access the court, both in professional and junior tennis leagues. These factors may include, but are not limited to, gender, social status, and socioeconomic status. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get an original essayIn Bourdieu's theory, the first concept that explains the relationship between sport and a person's action is the concept of 'habitus, or also known as 'personal dispositions'. This concept refers to “a subjective but not individual system of internalized structures, patterns of perception, conception and action common to all members of the same group or class”. This can include gender, social status, and social class, and these factors influence a person's ability to participate in sports. When it comes to tennis, we can see that an individual's gender can influence their involvement (or lack of involvement) in the sport. Gender "refers to the specific social and cultural meanings associated with biological sex and the categories of 'masculine' and 'feminine' that define norms, roles and behaviors." On the tennis court, men can be seen to “roar” when a set is won and “punch the air” with joy, which fits the stereotypes of the “masculine” man. In contrast, women must conform to their “gentle” and “gentle” nature when winning on the field. During their game, men are almost “encouraged” to show anger and drastic emotions “because this is linked to the dimensions of dominance and power, more relevant in the male stereotype”. A study by Maria Grazia Monaci and Francesca Veronesi investigated sex and the role of gender in match anger. It was found that women "more often repressed their expression of anger or...expressed it in a more socially acceptable way" and that if they showed any emotion it was often mistaken for "sadness". A woman's personal dispositions impact her ability to express emotions appropriately based on her gender, and if she produces an inadequate emotional response on the ground, she is pressured by the media to "act out." . This affects a woman's performance on the field, as the study also found that "trying to control one's anger externally can harm one's performance." This prevents women from playing fully on the court without acting outside of their gender norms, and therefore hinders their participation in tennis, for fear of being discredited due to their expression of anger and emotion on the court. Men therefore have the upper hand to dominate sport because their ability to express their emotions outwardly does not break the norms of society, thus facilitating their performance. By encouraging men to express their anger and emotions on the ground, but by removing thewomen's ability to do so, this hinders a woman's potential to take up tennis due to the stereotypes imposed on her when playing the sport. Continuing with the notion of habitus, the idea of ​​the wage gap in tennis between men and women can hinder the desire to play or continue playing. Having the predisposition to be a woman in society can lead to being paid less than a man to practice the same sport. In 2017/2018, the top 5 highest paid players in the world were made up of 4 men and 1 woman - this woman being Serena Williams. From these statistics, it was found that the highest paid man (Roger Fedderer) received around US$72.2 million in prize money and endorsements, while Serena Willaims received around US$18.06 million in prize money and endorsements. This is another example of how gender influences an individual's ability to be interconnected with sport, particularly tennis. Setting this example for young girls could dissuade them from wanting to play a sport where the pay gap is drastic and, therefore, limit the number of women in the elite tennis league. To take this idea even further, the fact that women play fewer sets than men in a tennis match can be a barrier to achieving one's full potential. The common belief that women do not have the stamina and strength to play 5 full sets perpetuates the stereotype that men are superior by claiming that women are incapable. The idea of ​​a woman sweating and strong enough to play 5 sets deters her typically feminine, clean and slender attributes that should be carried on the court. Related to the theory of economic capital discussed later, playing only 3 sets allows female players to be paid less than their male peers, which further inhibits the ability to fully participate at the same level as all other players. The second concept in Bourdieu’s framework is the notion of field. Again, this concept highlights an individual's participation in sport, in this case tennis, by examining distinct social contexts. Bourdieu's conception of distinct social settings is called "the physical space where social activity takes place." In this case, the court is where tennis competitions take place, and there is a lower and higher social group. An example of the impact of the concept of habitus on the concept of field is an individual's education. In the typical context of playing any professional sport, an important factor that enhances a person's ability to enter a professional field of tennis is their education and, more specifically, the school they come from. In a study conducted by Kristine Alger and Debra Schleef of the University of Mary Washington titled "Competitive Junior Tennis and the Reproduction of Social Class," it was found that "elite tennis players are more than three times as likely to attend a private school” and that “eighty-two percent of players attended schools in areas where the median household income was higher than the state median household income.” Although these results refer to the notions of habitus and capital, these factors allow individuals likely to attend private schools to have a higher status in society due to their ability to pay for private education. This thus implies that those who come from a public school are inferior to those who attend private schools when it comes to access to the tennis court or field. As a result, an individual's social class influences their ability to gain permission from society to have a place on the tennis court. According to the theory.