Sport is in this article analysed as an antithesis to ordinary life situations, a sphere where the dynamics of symbolic play contrast with the routinization and restraint of emotions in the life of modern society. In an effort to challenge the concept of emotion based on Freud in the figurational thinking of sport, it is argued that the psychology of pleasure in sport is not exhausted by Freud. With a sociological perspective on emotions in female sport such as soccer, ice hockey and basketball, the article reconsiders the knowledge and perspective whereby emotions are seen to involve both cognitive and affective dimensions. Various emotional vocabularies in the face-to-face context of female sport are analysed, as well as the broader interdependence between emotion and the social context. The purpose is to elaborate how emotions are guided and unfolded on court in the ball game itself. The data comes from 26 in-depth interviews with Danish top-level players.
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