THE MENTAL GAME OF TENNIS

Athletes compete for different reasons and regardless of the level or the sport, all are in competition to perform well and win.  When competing athletes often put pressure on themselves and unknowingly cause anxiety, tension, self-doubt and a reduction in their overall performance level.  Skills that have been mastered become impossible to perform or at best unstable and inconsistent; which results in a lack of confidence and trust in learned skills. This is the result of over thinking ones actions which undoubtedly leads to a reduction in skills. What happens next is a vicious cycle of

            Analytical thought (where you are telling yourself what to do),

            Performing the task (many times unsuccessfully), then on to another

            Analytical thought (what did I do wrong) and back to what I need to do next.  

Keep in mind that the analytical mind (when you are trying to figure something out, or learn it) is used for practice not “game time”.  Competition is when your subconscious mind takes over; little thought is needed and responses and reactions are a result of your training. Match time is no time for instruction!  This time is saved for performance and in order to do this, your play should be more of a trained reaction and intuitive response.

In the book, The Inner Game of Tennis, author Tim Gallwey further explains that mastering the inner game of tennis is overcoming the self-doubt, nervousness, anxiety and lapses of concentration that keep you from performing at your best.  The best way to defeat this type of behavior is by learning to focus. 

First, one must realize that during competition within you are two people; one that’s telling you what to do (don’t hit it so hard, step into the ball, racquet up) and the other that just performs the action (the muscle memory).  The key is to quiet the part of you that’s giving instruction and just do it.  Yeah, I know its Nike’s slogan but it’s the key…”just do it”!  Don’t remind yourself how it’s done, don’t picture it in your mind, don’t think about what happens if you miss it….just do it!  How do you learn to do this… by learning to focus.  Focus is simply paying attention to what’s important in that moment.  For a tennis player it’s generally the ball and your position to the ball.  There are many strategies and techniques for learning to focus, which will be covered later but for now let’s just keep the following tips in mind:

1)    when competing remember it’s time to perform; limit the lessons in your head, save that for practice

2)   when you make a mistake, have short term memory…FORGET IT and MOVE ON and

3)   remember to PRACTICE with a PURPOSE (be a good student and always learn something at practice)

More on “practicing with a purpose” later because it’s a valuable lesson! 

Here’s to a GREAT week of practice and an even better week of PEAK PERFORMANCE!!!

Coach Valarie

www.mentallyandphysicallytough.com