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The impact of physical attractiveness on the popularity of female tennis players in online media

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  • Kiefer, Stephanie
  • Scharfenkamp, Katrin

Abstract

The discussion about the impact of physical attractiveness on popularity of competitive athletes has received much attention from scholars as well as from media around the world. We provide new insights to this debate by estimating correlation-coefficients and regression-models to test whether and to which extent physical attractiveness of professional female tennis players affects their popularity in online media. Based on a sample of the top 100 WTA single ranking of one selected calendar week in 2011 we find that physical attractiveness increases significantly the popularity on Facebook, WTA news, Kicker.de, the homepage of the Tennis Life Magazine and Google.

Suggested Citation

  • Kiefer, Stephanie & Scharfenkamp, Katrin, 2012. "The impact of physical attractiveness on the popularity of female tennis players in online media," Discussion Papers of the Institute for Organisational Economics 6/2012, University of Münster, Institute for Organisational Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:umiodp:62012
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    Cited by:

    1. Linn-Brit Bakkenbüll & Stephanie Kiefer, 2015. "Are Attractive Female Tennis Players More Successful? An Empirical Analysis," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 68(4), pages 443-458, November.
    2. Bakkenbüll, Linn-Brit, 2016. "Does attractiveness win? On the gender-specific impact of attractiveness on athletic performance in tennis," Discussion Papers of the Institute for Organisational Economics 01/2016, University of Münster, Institute for Organisational Economics.
    3. Dennis Coates, 2013. "The economic impact of the Women’s World Cup," Chapters, in: Eva Marikova Leeds & Michael A. Leeds (ed.), Handbook on the Economics of Women in Sports, chapter 17, pages 365-387, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    4. Bakkenbüll, Linn-Brit & Kiefer, Stephanie, 2014. "Are attractive female tennis players more successful? An empirical analysis," Discussion Papers of the Institute for Organisational Economics 12/2014, University of Münster, Institute for Organisational Economics.

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    JEL classification:

    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • A11 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Role of Economics; Role of Economists
    • C81 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - Methodology for Collecting, Estimating, and Organizing Microeconomic Data; Data Access
    • M00 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - General - - - General

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