Mastering The Mental Game
A Long-Term Approach To Better Tennis And More
Enjoyment With The Sport!
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© 2012, by Florian Meier, OnlineTennisInstruction.com
When thinking of the mental game players tend to think about techniques like visualization,
positive thinking and proper breathing. These can help a little bit but they do not get to the
root of the problem and the root of the problem is the general attitude that you have towards
the game and that is why developing a good attitude is the focus in this ebook!
Content Outline:
1. Introduction
2. What Is Attitude
3. Typcial Problematic Attitudes
4. Attitudes To Develop
5. Fear On The Tennis Court
6. Controlling Anger
7. The Satisfied Tennisplayer vs. the unsatisfied tennisplayer
8. Goals
9. Motivation
10. Confidence
11. Flow or Entering The Zone
12. Managing Your Surroundings
13. Affirmations
14. Visualization
15. Conclusion
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© 2012, by Florian Meier, OnlineTennisInstruction.com
1. Introduction
Most people play Tennis to relax from their everyday routine and because they want to learn
new skills in a safe environment with people that they like. We want to have satisfying
relationships with other people and we want to get some good exercise and have fun at the
same time. These are typical good reasons to play Tennis.
Another crucial aspect of why we play Tennis is the fact that we can easily get into a flow like
state where we are completely immersed in the task at hand and forget what’s going on
around us. This is a very enjoyable state and something that tennis players strive for all over
the world.
In the long run you will only enjoy Tennis if you play for the right reasons and too many
tennis players base their motivation on counter-productive things like external rewards. Some
common examples are players that want to keep up with their spouse or players that want to
look good in front of others to satisfy their need for recognition.
Having the right reasons and attitude for playing Tennis is a process that never ends. It is
important to develop some healthy selfishness. Play for yourself and to satisfy your own
needs first and that way you and everyone else will get the most out of your involveme nt in
the game of Tennis!
In order to develop as a tennis player and as a person it is usually necessary to change in
certain ways and this is quite difficult for most people. Change means unknown scary
territory and there is a reason why you behaved the way that you behaved in the past. That’s
why your subconscious mind is usually resistant to any changes.
If you are reading this then most likely there are things in your mental game that you want to
change. What I would like to tell you is this: Do what you have always done and you will get
the same result as always.
Therefore it is important that you make yourself aware in the beginning of this process
that you need to change certain things and it will not always be comfortable!
If you do end up overcoming your personal obstacles though, you will develop a great feeling
of accomplishment and have more fun on the tennis court as a result. I sincerely hope that this
ebook will help you make those changes to your attitude and get you to play Tennis for t he
right reasons, which should lead to more enjoyment on the court!
2. What Is Attitude
Every tennis player has a certain attitude towards the game that generally reflects his
character. How does he approach the game and how does he treat himself when he is playing
well and when is not playing well are the questions to think about. Expectations obviously
play a big role in this regard!
Players with healthy attitudes towards the game understand that all they can do is try their
best and they end up making this their goal: to try their best and keep improving.
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© 2012, by Florian Meier, OnlineTennisInstruction.com
A great quote from Vic Braden that I always re member is this: On any given day 50%
of all tennis players in the world loose and 50% of all tennis players in the world win
their matches. Wouldn’t it be a shame if the 50% of the tennis players in the world that
loose their matches do not enjoy the game ?
Players with good attitudes also understand that there will be highs and lows in regards to
their form throughout their tennis career and that it is inevitable. Getting better at this game
happens only with hard work and usually the process is rather slow. Oftentimes it is two steps
forward and then one step back again. Since you are reading this report though it is obvious
that you have made a commitment towards accelerating this process, which is great news!
Attitude is also about having a long-term perspective on things. The percentage of tennis
players that will ever make money playing Tennis is extremely small. Wouldn’t it be a shame
to spend your valuable free time in frustration on the tennis court ?
Most points in Tennis end with an error from someone. Errors are a huge part of the
game and if you get frustrated afte r every single error then you will have a hard time
enjoying this sport!
Understanding this is easy; changing your attitude is the hard part. Your mind prefers to keep
the thought patterns that it is used to.
Tennis players that make a conscious effort to develop a better attitude on the court
often succeed for a fe w weeks and then revert to their old destructive habits; very
similar to people on a weight loss program for example.
Hopefully this report can help you not to fall into that category. Just understand that it will
require some solid effort on your part!
Developing a great attitude towards the game is a lifelong process and someone like Rafael
Nadal for example has been internalizing good thought processes on the tennis court for his
entire life.
Attitude Action Ste ps:
Make Trying Your Best Your Primary Goal
Continuously Work On Your Attitude
Be Aware That Long-Term Change Is The Goal And
That Is What Makes It So Difficult
3. Typical Problematic Attitudes
Let’s have a look at some of the most common problematic attitudes on the tennis court.
Perfectionism / Never Good Enough
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© 2012, by Florian Meier, OnlineTennisInstruction.com
Many players unknowingly measure themselves against the best possible Tennis that they
have ever played and as a result are frustrated most of the time. It is simply not realistic to
expect yourself to play at your highest possible level on a regular basis.
If you are going to measure yourself, then measure yourself against your normal form
and not against your best form!
Another thing to keep in mind is that nobody is perfect on the tennis court and it is ok to not
be perfect. Tennis attracts many people that are perfectionists by nature and this can be a
recipe for disaster on the tennis court. So if you are a perfectionist you need to regularly
remind yourself that it is impossible to be perfect on the tennis court and making mistakes is
part of the learning process!
Seeking Short Te rm Rewards
Our society teaches us to seek out short te rm re wards from a very early age and this is
one of the biggest proble ms when it comes to working towards long-term goals with your
tennis game!
From an early age we are conditioned to seek short term rewards. In school we get
recognition for getting an A and therefore we study accordingly. We do whatever is efficient
to get an A rather than doing what will help us understand the subject matter. As a result
students manage to make good grades but they often forget about what they studied quickly or
even worse they loose interest in the subject matter altogether because they are conditioned to
only worry about getting a good grade.
At work we often encounter similar processes. We are completely focused on results and
outcomes and many people vie w solving the proble ms as a necessary thing to accomplis h
their goals.
We then apply these same principles to our hobbies like Tennis. Players are focused o n
winning matches in order to gain rewards in the form of recognition and possibly prizes.
The fact that we are conditioned like this makes it extremely difficult for us to focus on
long-term goals like developing our game to the fullest potential.
Pursuing such a goal oftentimes comes with long phases without recognition and rewards and
our desires to gain recognition and rewards is constantly nagging us. As a result most players
go back to focusing on actions that lead to short term rewards and recognition in order to
fulfil those desires.
Since this desire is deeply engrained in us, I believe we need to find ways to use it for us
instead of trying to ove rcome it. One way to do that is to pick short term goals that are
part of the development process and reward yourself for achieving the m!
So if you are working on your serve and the first step is to get the toss correctly, then I would
recommend to focus on that and to reward yourself once you get the toss right consistently
even though you might not be hitting better serves yet.
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© 2012, by Florian Meier, OnlineTennisInstruction.com
Most of us need these rewards to keep us on track because otherwise we start to question
whether or not we will actually reach our desired goal in the end. Once we get the feeling
though that we have successfully achieved one step towards our desired goal, that results in
more motivation to continue. (see also chapter 11 on Flow)
So in conclusion I think that only very few of us can manage to succeed without seeking
short-term re wards. As a result we should focus on creating short-te rm process goals or
games that are fun to work on!
An example could be to work on coming to the net at least 5 times in every set. You try to
motivate yourself to achieve this goal and you could even reward yourself with something fun
if you achieve this goal.
Of course you need to keep your long-term goals in mind as well. The long-term goal could
be to develop into an effective all-court player that can successfully play the net and your
short-term goal of getting to the net 5 times per set ties in perfectly with this long-term goal!
So get excited about getting to the net 5 times because you know that this is the first step to
your long-term goal!
Expecting Justice On The Tennis Court
Expecting justice on the tennis court is a common problem. In the long run good luck and bad
luck will always equal out but in a single match you can have a lot of good or bad luck and
that is perfectly normal and to be expected!
That’s why it does not make sense to get upset about it every time you experience bad luck.
Most players are delusional in this regard as well because they only remember the times that
they had bad luck and forget about the times they had a lot of good luck.
At the end of the day you cannot influence luck and it makes no sense to wor ry about it!
Depending On Success
In general you can learn the most from your bad matches and losses. The problem is that
players have too much ego and how well they play heavily influences their feeling of selfworthiness. As a result you get really emotional when you play bad and are not capable of
learning from the experience!
If your feeling of self-worthiness does not depend on how well you play Tennis, then you
can look at all of this very relaxed and focus on what you can improve in your tennis
game!
Getting to the point where your feeling of self-worthiness does not depend on your wins and
losses is a long way for most players but it is something that all of us should strive for! One of
the keys is to learn to view losses as learning opportunities instead of something super
negative!
Excuses
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© 2012, by Florian Meier, OnlineTennisInstruction.com
Excuses are all too common on the tennis court. Some players live in their own little world
that they construct through excuses for everything. Basically what these players are doing is
ignoring reality.
The only way out of this mess is to accept that you are not as good as you thought you
we re and stop the excuses. This is painful but necessary!
Players that have been using excuses to ignore the reality of their playing level will often have
extreme angry reactions at some point when reality cannot be avoided anymore. In some
cases this leads to the player quitting the game because the reality is just too hard to accept!
At the root of this whole proble m is usually the idea in your subconscious mind that the
people around you like your fellow tennis playe rs or your parents will only like and
respect you if you play great Tennis
In reality, the players that are usually respected the most are the ones that do not lie to
themselves and do not take themselves too serious!
In order to get rid off all that anger you have to get rid off the extreme expectations as well as
the idea that your self- worth depends on how well you play Tennis. After all it is just a game!
If you don’t manage to do that then you will end up overambitious and eventually depressed
about your tennis game!
Reacting To Mistakes
Many players make it a habit to show a negative reaction after almost every single point.
They will display negative body language and some players even go so far as to say negative
comments about the point out loud every single time they make an error.
This is a very common problem and something that will lead to all kinds of frustrations with
your tennis game. Essentially you are reinforcing the belief that you are not very good at this
game and that you should perform a lot better.
In order to stop this crazyness you need to challenge yourself to not react after you make
errors.
The solution is very simple in theory but very hard in practice. Simply try to go out and
play an entire set without any kind of negative reaction and you will see how tough it is
if you are used to expressing your negativity!
Playing With Better Players
Lots of players always want to play with better players. Usually what they want is to get
respected and accepted from these high- level tennis players.
If you practice with someone that is clearly better than you and you manage to play that
player fairly close for about 15 minutes you will be tempted to tell yourself that you now
know that you can play as well as that player. You are lying to yourself though. You have
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proven that you can hang with that other player for 15 minutes when you play your best
Tennis; nothing more and nothing less!
The guy you were playing against can also play against someone even better and manage to
hang in there for 15 minutes when he is playing his best. That doesn’t mean he is capable of
playing like that all the time though!
These players are really dependent on their results. If they play well they feel great and if they
play poor Tennis they feel terrible and get really angry. This usually translates to private life
as well, which is of course scary if you think about it!
Despair
If you are putting a lot of energy into your Tennis and have high e xpectations that you cannot
fulfil on a regular basis, then you are at risk of getting into a stage of despair. You might be
thinking: I am doing everything I should be doing and still I don’t get to the level I am
looking to get to.
What is often forgotten is that you were lying to yourself previously about how good you
really are and the despair now comes from expectations that were simply too high in the first
place!
Your emotions result out of your recurring thought patte rns. If you are constantly
telling yourself that you need to play pretty much perfect Tennis and that every mistake
is unacceptable, you will react accordingly if your expectations are not met!
Learned Helplessness
Players that are used to focusing on performance goals will oftentimes feel helpless when
things aren’t going their way because they feel they can’t reach their goal of winning. That’s
why you should always put your focus on trying your best and not on winning. You can
always influence trying your best and therefore you will never feel helpless.
Action Steps Proble matic Attitudes:
Measure Yourself Against Your Normal Form
Choose The Right Short-Term Goals That Motivate You In The Right Direction
Do Not Expect Justice On The Tennis Court
Learn To View Losses As Learning Opportunities
Keep Excuses To Yourself
Develop Realistic Expectations
Practice Not Reacting To Mistakes Over And Over
The way to internalize these action steps/attitudes is through constant re petition in your
mind over a long period of time!
4. How To Develop A Better Attitude
Awareness Of Your Weaknesses
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© 2012, by Florian Meier, OnlineTennisInstruction.com
In order to feel better about yourself and fulfil your potential you first need to become aware
of the fact that you are constantly comparing yourself to others and that your self-worth is
dependent on your tennis results. Becoming aware of this is the first step towards improving
the situation!
At some point you learn to accept that Tennis is a very difficult game and that it takes a
long time to get better! That’s when you can stop making excuses and pretending you
are better than you really are. Now you are free and can start concentrating on what
you need to do in order to improve!
Controlling Thought Patte rns
At this point you have to start to replace your negative thought patterns with better ones. You
will only be successful at this if you really believe in it though!
Typical thoughts like: I suck, I am no good, I am a terrible tennis player need to be
replaced with thoughts of this kind: Tennis is a difficult game, my self-worth is not
dependent on the level of my tennis game, everyone struggles with this game and that is
perfectly normal.
Once you get to this point you can really start enjoying the sport and you will also improve
much quicker usually!
Only very few tennis players manage to stay relaxed on the court all the time. They do not
identify themselves with the results anymore and instead they care about giving their best
effort. These players can still be satisfied if they lost a match as long as they tried their best!
The tricky part is developing and training the correct thought patterns for the longterm. Oftentimes players change how they think in times of crisis and then they end up
with the same old thought patterns a few weeks later!
A great example for this is Rafael Nadal. He has a great attitude towards the sport. If you
listen to him in press conferences you can often hear him say things of this nature: “I tried my
best today and it was not good enough. There is nothing more I can do and now I will go back
to working hard on my game and try to win the next one”.
The important thing to consider here is that Nadal really believes this. It is not just something
he says. Saying things of this nature on the other hand is definitely a first step towards
internalizing them!
Nadal has managed to improve his game over the years and he never stopped working on his
game. His focus is on doing whatever he can to get better and not on winning. Winning is just
a by-product of his work and his attitude.
Nadal gre w up with this sort of an attitude and he had people around him that taught
him about the right attitudes. Having those sorts of people around is really important
and something I will talk about in more detail later.
Loving The Challenge
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It is important to stop hoping for short-term wins and successes. You will get the best feeling
on the tennis court when you worked hard on something for a long period of time and you
finally manage to execute what you have been working on!
Pleasure with effort feels much better than pleasure without effort. Unde rstanding that
and developing your attitude accordingly will give you long-te rm satisfaction!
Acknowledgement from others will also give you satisfaction of course and there is nothing
wrong with that. Just don’t make yourself dependent on that!
Try to get your enjoyment from solving the problems that you face on the tennis court and
you are definitely on the right track!
The source of most mental problems for tennis players is the desire for respect and
acknowledgement from other playe rs, coaches, and parents. If instead you focus on
solving the problems on the court, you will have more fun, improve at a faster rate and
as a by-product get the respect and recognition from others!
The best players in the world don’t play for money. What drives the m to continue to compete
after already winning millions of dollars ? They play because they love the challenge of trying
to be the best possible player they can be! These players can also be satisfied with their
performance after a loss if the opponent was simply better that day!
More Examples
Lleyton Hewitt is another player that simply loves the challenge. Lleyton was the number 1
player in the world and has earned millions of dollars. Nowadays he sometimes needs
wildcards to get into big tournaments and he has suffered countless injuries. Nevertheless, he
is still out there trying to compete even though he has the money and the possibilities to do
many other things.
Why does he do it ? I believe he does it because he loves the battle and the challenge. I am
sure if you ask him, getting to the round of 16 at the 2012 Australian Open at almost 31 years
of age after many injuries, gave him an incredible sense of accomplishment.
Lleyton can enjoy getting to the Round of 16 even though he once was a numbe r 1
playe r in the world because he has the right perspective and attitude towards the game
and what he is capable of at this moment!
On the women’s side Maria Sharapova is a real role model when it comes to loving the
challenge and displaying a great attitude towards the sport. Sharapova came back from a
severe shoulder injury and a long layoff and ended up winning another Grand Slam title
despite all the experts saying that she will probably never be back at the top of the game.
Maria simply loves the challenge and she is also ok with losing as long as she tries her best. I
have seen her in some devastating losses against players like Serena Williams for example
where she literally had no chance but nevertheless she managed to stay positive and play
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every point 100% until the end of the match. Overall she displays very healthy character traits
on the tennis court and she is definitely someone to model in this regards!
Resilience
Resilience is extremely important in Tennis. Longer phases of stagnation and even steps
backward are simply a part of this game. If you get discouraged easily by this then you will
have a hard time enjoying this game. Realizing that stagnation is sometimes part of the game
is very important!
The idea that if you work hard you will constantly get better is a bit of an illusion. If you
work hard and s mart you will improve in the long run but the re will always be steps
back and phases of stagnation. It’s part of the game!
In the beginning of your tennis career you improve at the fastest rate and the better you get the
harder it gets to improve even more. The improvement curve does go upward but it gets less
steep and there are phases of stagnation!
The Improvement Curve
This type of improvement is of course assuming that you are getting good advice on your
game and are practicing with a purpose. Unfortunately way too many players reach a certain
level and stop improving altogether!
Developing Good Performance Expectations
It is impossible to get better all the time. This is something you need to realize and get used
to. Make sure to check your expectations in this regard!
Ideally you want to get rid of any performance expectations. Your expectations should
revolve around trying your best and that way you can always meet your expectations!
Do not go out and practice with the goal of winning in mind. Go out and practice with the
goal of getting better in mind and winning will follow.
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If you are too anxious and focused on short-term results then you will slow down the learning
process significantly! Get rid of the anxiety and focus in on every practice session. That will
get the best possible results
Tennis resolves around solving problems and that is what makes it so addicting.
Proble ms and difficult situations are there to be solved and that’s how you should
approach it!
How mature you are as a player will show in the most difficult situations and does not depend
on how well you play!
Accepting Reality
If you have been lying to yourself about how good you are then you are essentially
compromising your long-term mental health as a tennis player for an illusion that will allow
you to feel better about yourself at this moment only.
Every time you lie to yourself you hurt your self-esteem because deep down you know how
good you are and how good you are not!
A very common example is when players start a match playing poorly and then stop trying. If
you don’t try you can always use that as an excuse afterwards and it does not hurt as much as
trying hard and still loosing!
Once you accept reality and your true playing level, you can really start to turn things
around and feel better about yourself and your tennis game! People will respect you for
being honest with yourself and accepting your limitations and weaknesses as a tennis
playe r!
Embracing Adversity
Adversity will help you grow as a tennis player if you have the right attitude about it.
Successful people in general realize that they will face adversity and challenges in any
difficult endeavour like Tennis, and they also realize that you can only grow if you face
adversity.
Too many players on the other hand try to avoid adversity at all costs and interpret it as a
negative thing. Imagine a scenario where you are playing a match in windy conditions. People
that are afraid of adversity might think: This wind is terrible. I can’t play properly. It is no fun
to play in this wind etc. This stems from the belief that adversity is a bad thing.
Another player on the other hand might think: This wind is difficult. I am going to try to
handle it better than my opponent and next time I play in the wind I will have better skills at
dealing with it. Players with this kind of an attitude actually enjoy the challenge of doing their
best in these challenging conditions!
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The difference here is that the second player embraces the adversity and uses it in his favour,
which is obviously the better option. As we all know this is difficult to do and therefore it is
something we should practice on a regular basis!
Another thing to keep in mind with adversity is that you want to develop an attitude
whe re you expect things to go wrong because things will always go wrong. If you expect
things to run s moothly then you will be disappointed most of the time and that can kill
your motivation.
Instead you expect anything and everything to go wrong and then you are happy if some of
those things end up not going wrong!
Take Responsibility
Change it, love it, or leave it is a great motto that I highly recommend you follow! Let’s look
at the common example of windy conditions for example. If you want to change it the only
option, even though usually unrealistic, would be to play indoors. To leave it would mean not
to play at all in this case. The last and best option would be to love it and look at it as a great
opportunity to practice playing in the wind for your next tournament with windy conditions!
Whining about it is the worst alternative and unfortunately the one that too many players
choose!
Perspective
Try to keep the pe rspective about what is going on. Your ego can get hurt on the tennis
court but you will not die so do not react as if you are going to die!
Is it really that bad if you played a poor match ? Don’t you think people have better things to
do than talk about the fact that you played a poor match ?
Many of you have probably heard about these attitudes and have been told that this is how
you should think about the game. Let me remind you one more time that the key is to practice
these attitudes over and over on a regular basis until they become a part of you!
Action Steps For A Better Attitude:
Become Aware Of Your Mental Problems
Replace Bad Thought Patterns With Good Ones
Try To Copy The Attitudes Of Great Champions Like Nadal
Learn To Love The Challenge And The Hard Work
Realize That Phases Of Stagnation Are Part Of The Developmental Process
Focus On Solving Problems – That Is Where The Fun Comes From!
Be Realistic About Your Playing Level
Think: Change It, Love It, Or Leave It
Regularly Put Things In Perspective – It’s Just A Game
5. Fear On The Tennis Court
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Fear plays a big role in Tennis so let’s have a look at some of the most common fears on the
tennis court.
Fear Of Embarassment
This usually happens when you play with better players or players whose judgement is
important to you. Another situation would be when people that you care about are watching
your match.
Basically you are putting pressure on yourself and in general nobody plays well under
extreme pressure.
Top players with good mental attitudes like Rafael Nadal (yes there are top players with
rathe r poor attitudes) do not build up that much pressure in their head in the first place.
They have inte rnalize d the idea that all they can do is focus on their game and try their
best.
Not making excuses on a day when you are playing really poorly is a great way to practice a
good mental attitude!
As long as your self-worth is dependent on your tennis results the fear will not go away!
The subconscious belief that you will only be accepted and re spected if you do well is the
root of the proble m!
In my opinion overcoming fear is a lot more impressive than talent and it is something that
every tennis player can strive for!
The player that can simply accept bad shots and move on shows real mental s trength!
Most likely the other players around you are way too worried about their own problems and
don’t even realize whether or not you are playing well!
A bad match that you played is something that people forget quickly but if you keep
making excuses about it people will not forget that as quickly!
Once you understand the processes that are making you frustrated on the tennis court it will
still take a while until things change but understanding the root of the problem is the first step
forward! Reciting these phrases in your head often and writing them down usually helps:
-
It is ridiculous to be afraid of playing a bad tennis match. One week from now no one
will even remember this and I will play lots more in the future!
Playing bad in front of people should not worry me because the people watching all
play Tennis as well and know how difficult this game is!
Tennis is a game and it is not about life and death. My parents and friends will still
love me after a bad match regardless!
The end goal is to develop a better attitude that will get rid off the sources of the fear
and ultimately make you less dependent on recognition and acknowledgement from
others!
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The idea of loosing even though you tried your best often scares people so instead they stop
trying. This is very common with really talented players. These players know that others
expect them to win and feel the pressure. Giving up is a short-term safety mechanism for
them but leads to more psychological pain down the road
If your pe rformance does not match up with your expectations there are only two
solutions: #1: You train harde r and/or smarter. #2: You lowe r your expectations!
Fear Of Winning
Many players are actually afraid of winning for certain psychological reasons. These players
usually have some psychological need that they are trying to fulfil that might not be fulfilled
when they win. Think of the super talented player that beats everyone in practice but can’t
seem to get it done in the match. Now there could me many reasons for this but generally
there is a feeling of not being worthy to win on a very deep subconscious level.
This could be based on the need to be liked by your opponents and practice partners or it
could simply be based on the fact that the player is not at peace with himself and who he is
and therefore does not believe he deserves to win.
Wanting to be liked by your opponent often is an issue when you play a good friend or
someone that has been helping you with your game. In these situations you could be by far the
better player but your subconscious mind will stop you from destroying your opponent
because you want to be liked by that person.
If you think you might be one of those players that fears to win then you have some serious
work to do on the mental side. There are many strategies to deal with this though and one of
them is using positive affirmations, which we will talk about later in this book. Visualizing
yourself actually winning is something that could also help in these situations.
Fear Of Failure
A lot of players draw out terrible consequences in their head if they were to lose an important
match. This oftentimes leads to a strong fear of failure. Again this issue revolves around the
idea that the player fears what others might think about them if they perform poorly.
We are social animals and we all crave social approval to a certain extent and in our society it
is of course true that being a winner leads to social approval.
Nevertheless we tend to exaggerate the consequences that wins or losses will have in
regards to what our peers think of us.
People are not going to think any worse of you just because you lost an important tennis
match. People will think worse of you though if you behave inappropriately while losing that
tennis match!
Fear Of Letting People Down
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Many players also have the fear of letting people down. Usually this revolves around family
members, your coach, and/or your teammates. This fear, like all the other fears, can really
hinder your performance and you can overcome it by realizing that the people closest to you
will still love and support you even if you lose a couple of tennis matches!
This of course can be difficult when they make you feel otherwise. Oftentimes the people
around you have certain habits that they are not even aware of that make you feel like you
might not be loved or respected if you perform poorly. The best way to deal with this is
usually to talk to the people around you and how their behaviour makes you feel. Oftentimes
this can resolve a lot of problems!
Feeling The Pressure Before A Big Win
Oftentimes players get tight just before beating a player that is ranked significantly higher. If
you feel this fear you should remind yourself that you would have begged to be in this
situation before the match. This chance of beating a higher ranked player is something that
you strive for and should be excited about! It is a gift. Would you be happier if you were
down a set and a break ?
Overcoming Fear:
There are different strategies that can be used to overcome your fears on the tennis court.
Overall I believe that confronting your fears is the most effective way to overcoming your
fears.
Basically you want to face the situation and say to yourself: Is the outcome that I fear
really that bad ?
Ideally you put yourself in the situation that you fear to realize that it is not that bad after all.
So if you fear looking bad in front of others when you shank shots for example, then I would
recommend that you go out next time and actually shank a few on purpose in order to reassure
yourself that nothing truly bad really happens and your tennis friends will still like you.
This is of course a radical approach that may or may not be suitable for all of you but it
usually works really well!
Action Steps - Fear On The Court:
Practice Not Making Excuses When You Are Playing Poorly
Tell Yourself Regularly: My Self-Worth Is Not Dependent On My Tennis Results
Show Mental Strength By Accepting Bad Shots And Moving On
If You Are Very Frustrated Look At Your Options:
1. Train Harder/Smarter 2. Lower Expectations
Realize That It Is A Gift To Be In Pressure Situations
Talk To The People Around You If They Give You The Feeling That You Will Not Be
Loved/Respected When You Perform Poorly
Think about your fear. Is the feared outcome really that bad ?
6. Controlling Anger
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Should you let your anger out or keep it in ? That is a very common question among tennis
players and something I want to address here in detail. My opinion on this is that throwing
your racket or letting your anger out in general is not a useful strategy on the tennis court.
Studies have shown that your anger level does not go down quick enough after an outburst so
that it wouldn’t influence the next shot.
So the real reason you don’t want to yell and throw your racket is the fact that you will
not be able to calm down and concentrate on the next shot and your game plan for the
next point.
Another possibly even more important factor is the fact that if you do let your anger out you
are basically reinforcing the idea that making bad errors and playing poor Tennis is a really
bad thing. As you know already from this report one of the keys for a long-term healthy
attitude towards the game is to realize that it is in fact only a game and that your feeling of
self-worthiness should not depend on how well you play Tennis.
Another big consideration is the fact that if you are really angry you will not be able to learn
from your mistakes and properly analyze why you made them. Learning from mistakes is the
key to improving though!
In fact I am pretty certain that letting your anger out will only increase it. Instead you should
try to stay calm, take a deep breath and analyze your mistakes.
The best way to deal with anger in my opinion is anger control. The first thing you do is
realize that the feeling of anger is coming up in you. You then try to stay objective and
think about why you are getting angry.
3 common causes:
1. Not meeting expectations. This can lead to depressive thoughts and feelings about
your tennis game. Ask yourself if your expectations are realistic ?
2. Trying to show the opponent and people watching that you usually play better. This is
also a very common cause for anger outbursts. It is a form of protecting your ego but
in the long-run this is negative for your confidence and feeling of self-worth as a
tennis player!
3. Trying to show that you are very ambitious. Again players try to impress others in this
case which makes things only worse
Always keep in mind that the feeling of anger will go away eventually! If you stay calm,
take a deep breath and try to focus on the next point, the feeling will go away much
quicker than if you let your anger out freely!
Many players make it easy on themselves by saying that they have always been like that and
can not change. That is non-sense. If you want to change you can change but it takes work
and dedication!
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If you plan on playing Tennis for the rest of your life then I highly recommend that you
consider making the effort to get rid off the unrealistic expectations and habits that you
have!
Strategies For Dealing With Anger:
1. Bringing Attention Back To The Present Moment
The number 1 strategy for dealing with anger is to bring your attention back to the present
moment and focus on the next point instead of ruminating in your negative though patterns.
Every time you start going on in your head with negativity you should try to refocus on the
next point and what you want to do.
2. Use Breathing
In order to get back to the present moment and the task at hand it can be extremely helpful to
focus on your breathing. Whenever you get angry and negative thoughts pop up in your head
you should focus on your breathing. Take a deep breath in and a deep breath out and focus on
the air going in and out of your lungs. This can be really effective and I highly recommend
practicing this on a regular basis!
3. Use A Sense Of Humor
Smiling is a great way to get rid off your anger. Great players can smile about difficult
situations on the tennis court. Especially when bad luck hits them, these players tend to smile
rather than explode on the court and that shows to the outside world that they are not really
phased by bad luck. After all it is just one match in a long career!
Routines – The Key To Emotional Balance On The Court!
Routines are a great way to make sure that you stay on track and avoid a build up of too much
anger. In my opinion it is very important to develop a routine that you consistently follow inbetween points. This will help you tremendously to stay in control of your emotions.
A common and recommended routine is walking to the back fence and picking your
strings after every single point. You want to make sure that your eyes are not wande ring
around!
Björn Borg:
When I was young I was like John McEnroe or worse. I was constantly screaming and
throwing my racket. When I was thirteen my club excluded me from competition for 6
months because of that and my parents didn’t let me play at all for six months. After that I
never said a word on the tennis court. I still get upset but I keep it under control and to myself.
Another famous example is Roger Federer. He used to be very similar in his youth and look at
him now. This shows us that it is possible to change your attitude as a tennis player! Federer
has developed routines in between points that he sticks to in almost all cases and they have
proven to be extremely effective for him.
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I also recommend that you develop a routine before every match where you sit down in a
quiet place and think about what you want to accomplish.
Controlling The Conve rsations With Yourself
Once you realize where the anger comes from, you can move on and start to control the
conversations that you have with yourself
Example 1:
You are practicing under bad conditions. It is windy and the weather is just bad. If you would
usually start looking for excuses at this point (“this weather doesn’t allow good points” etc.)
then you now say stop to yourself and rephrase the conversation in your head to the
following: “Now I have the chance to practice playing under poor conditions which is
something that will certainly happen in tournaments in the future”
Example 2:
You hit a great forehand that would usually go in but the wind lets it go out. Usually you
would complain about your bad luck at this point. Change the conversation to the following:
“Bad luck is part of the game just like good luck. In the long run I will win most points if I hit
that shot in that situation so I did the right thing and should be satisfied with myself!”
If you manage to deal with bad luck better than your opponents then bad luck is actually an
advantage for you because the amount of bad luck and good luck always evens out in the long
run!
Every athlete has conversations going on in his head. The best athletes manage to
control the m in the right direction and avoid overly ne gative conversations in their
head!
Make a list of typical situations that cause you to have negative conversations in your head.
On the other side put what the conversation should be like and have a look at this paper very
often! I recommend you go ahead and do that right now. Stop reading and write this down to
get the ball rolling before you continue!
A perfect executed stroke can go out and a poorly executed stroke can become a winner
because of luck. That is perfectly normal and a part of the game so get used to it!
Positive thinking is not the ans wer! If I tell myself that I will win the next point I am
creating an expectation that I do not have full control over. I could execute everything
perfectly and still loose the point!
Instead of thinking I am going to win this point you should think like this: I am going to
prepare in the best possible manner for this point and try my absolute best to win it. That way
I have the best possible chance to win it and I can be satisfied either way!
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There is no way around working on yourself and that includes your character. Getting rid off
unrealistic expectations and not making your self- worth dependent on your tennis
performance is something that needs to be practised over and over by everybody!
You will often have the most fun whe n you are playing really well but you can learn and
improve the most when you are not playing well. Look at this as an opportunity!
Performance
My only goal can be to try my best. Where that takes me I cannot influence. I want to get rid
off result-oriented expectations. The only expectation I have is to prepare as well as possible,
try my absolute best and take the end-result lightly
Surroundings
Distractions and bad conditions are a part of the game. In order to be able to deal with bad
conditions you should go ahead and practice in bad conditions sometimes!
Play every point 100% no matter what happened before
“Success is when you tried your absolute best and you we re focused on improving rather
than winning. Only the players that truly believe in this can find real peace on the tennis
court in my opinion!”
Action Steps – Controlling Ange r
When Anger Comes Up Stay Cool And Ask Yourself Where It Is Coming From
Stay Calm, Take A Deep Breath, And Focus On The Next Point
Develop A Routine To Control Your Emotions Between Points
Learn To Control The Conversations With Yourself Between Points
Make A List Of Typical Negative Conversations And Develop A List Of What The
Conversations In Your Head Should Be Instead
Focus On What You Can Control – Trying Your Best
Practice In Bad Conditions (Noisy, Windy, etc.)
Again: It is extremely difficult to change your habits and your thought patterns for the
long-run. Repetition is the key with these processes just like it is with your st roke
technique!
You have to repeat the new thought patterns and attitudes over and over until they become a
part of you!
7. The Satisfied Versus The Unsatisfied Tennis Player
Below is a comparison that I call the satisfied tennis player vs. the unsatisfied tennis player. I
think it gives an excellent overview of what attitudes lead to satisfaction on the tennis court
and what attitudes lead to frustration. I got the idea for this from one of Germany’s leading
golf instructors, Oliver Heuler.
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The Satisfied Tennis player
Plays because he enjoys the game and the
process
Is highly self- motivated
Is disciplined
Is not too affected by stagnation because he
knows its part of the game
Enjoys practice and the process of getting
better
Is curious and wants to learn about the game
Is honest with himself and others
Does what he says in regards to his tennis
(work more/harder etc.)
Takes responsibility for his actions
Always has a plan for what he wants to work
on next
Stays relaxed under pressure
Can concentrate well but also relax when
necessary
Is not affected by bad luck and good luck
Likes to solve problems on the court
Wishes other players success
Compares himself to himself
Has solid self- confidence
Knows his limits as a player
Accepts positive criticism and starts working
on himself
Can separate tennis from his sense of selfworth
Wants to work hard to respect himself
The Unsatisfied Tennisplayer
Plays for success and recognition from others
Has to be pushed
Wants quick success and fun
Looses motivation quickly when things
aren’t going well
Doesn’t like to practice and usually just
wants to play instead
Just wants the results and doesn’t care about
understanding the process
Lies to himself and sometimes others
Says he wants to change but never does
Is constantly looking for excuses
Always has an excuse for why he didn’t
perform
Gets real tense under pressure
Gets distracted easily but has trouble relaxing
and constantly thinks about tennis
Always complains about bad luck
Problems make him nervous and anxious
Envies successful players and often
badmouthes them
Compares himself to others
Easily looses confidence
Overestimates his capabilities
Always tries to defend when criticized
Identifies with his tennis performance and
tennis performance influences his whole life
Wants to get respect from other players and
spectators
8. Goals
Goals can be an important part of your motivation. When you set yourself goals you need to
be very clear about why you want to achieve a certain goal. Behind ever y goal there is an
underlying motivation or need that you are trying to fulfil. It can be very helpful if you
become aware of the particular need that you are trying to fulfil with your goal!
Having a clear goal and knowing why you are pursuing that particular goal is what will
keep you going whe n times get tough. I usually recommend for my students to write
down what their particular goals are and why exactly these goals motivate them. This
will give you clarity and I highly recomme nd that you do the same.
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Generally in Tennis, if you set yourself goals you want to focus on process-oriented goals and
not performance goals. This gives you control over the outcome. Example: In the next 10
matches I want to have a first serve percentage of at least 60%. Or: I want to make no more
than 1 unforced error per service game.
A not so great goal in my opinion would be to become the number 1 player on your team.
Why is this not such a great goal ? The result in this case is to a certain degree outside of your
control. Therefore you could do everything right and still not accomplish your goal, simply
because another player performed extremely well. This then can lead to unmet expectations
and unnecessary frustrations.
Once you figure out your process-oriented goals, you go ahead and solely focus on the
necessary tasks to accomplish them.
A great goal for a match could be: stay calm after every point, follow the same routine
and prepare as well as possible for the next point. Then accept the outcome of that point
with ease.
So again the idea is to enjoy the process and not focus too much on the outcome. If you can
enjoy just hitting a good shot then you can have long- lasting motivation in this game. If you
need to win matches or reach certain milestones for your satisfaction then you will struggle a
lot in the long run!
Routines Again
Process-oriented goals can also be applied with your routines and in fact the following
goals/challenges are some of my favourite tools when working with players on the mental
aspect of the game!
The first goal/challenge I give my students is: No commenting after every single point. If
you are one of those players that like to comment out loud what you think, then set
yourself the goal to not do that for one game first, then for one set, and finally for an
entire match!
This is a lot more difficult then you probably think right now. Players that are used to
commenting after bad shots, struggle a lot if I challenge them not to comment for just one
game. Going for one entire set without commenting any of their shots is usually an impossible
goal for these players.
Nevertheless, once they take this on as a challenge and get better at it, they quickly realize
that they are now more poised and focused on the court, which results in a better performance
and more satisfaction while playing!
The next goal/challenge I give players is: Keep the same body language after every point no
matter if you won it or not. This is also very difficult. Most players are used to display
negative body language after every lost point, oftentimes without being aware of this. When
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you watch players like Nadal for example you can usually not tell whether or not they won
the previous point. (with a few exceptions of course)
Working on these two challenges alone can oftentimes completely change a player’s attitude
on the court. Once you realize that not commenting and not displaying negative body
language really does make you calmer and more focused on the court, you will of course
become much more likely to follow through with this in the long run!
The player that regularly practices to stay calm and not comme nt points , as well as
controls his body language, will slowly but surely become much more relaxed on the
tennis court. That will lead to much better results in the long run!
Another task that I want my players to accomplish is to not tell people after your match about
the problems you had during the match with the only exception being your coach. Most of us
are used to telling people about our struggles in those matches that we lost and the reason for
that is oftentimes to justify why we lost the match. This starts a vicious cycle though that will
essentially undermine your self-confidence.
The sheer act of justifying our losses basically reinforces the ide a to our subconscious
mind that we need to impress our peers and look good in front of them and as you know
by now this is exactly the kind of attitude that we want to get rid of.
Finally: If you think back about your tennis experiences whenever you stop playing wouldn’t
it be a shame if you remember being angry and frustrated a lot of the time ?
In my opinion the goal should be to learn to enjoy your tennis regardless of the results. Enjoy
the time with your fellow players, enjoy the process of working on your tennis and realize that
your tennis problems are not that important in the grand scheme of things!
Action Steps – Goals:
Develop Clear Goals And Regularly Remind Yourself Of Those
Write Down Your Goals And What Motivates You To Go After Them
Set Yourself Process-Oriented Goals Rather Than Outcome-Oriented Goals
A Great Goal: Stay Calm After Every Point For One Entire Set
Another Great Goal: No Commenting Out Loud After Every Point
Aim For No Excuses In Conversations After Matches
Another Goal: The Same Body Language After Good Points And Bad Points
9. Motivation
Motivation is a very important aspect in your tennis development. Fortunately the fact that
you are reading this ebook right now already tells me that you are highly self- motivated.
In order to talk about motivation I want to first give you a definition of motivation. From
Wikipedia.com we get:
Motivation is the psychological feature that arouses an organism to take action toward a desired goal
and elicits, controls, and sustains certain goal directed behaviors
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So what motivates us to play Tennis ? We play Tennis to fulfil certain basic human
needs that we have. When we fulfil these basic human needs we feel satisfaction or lust.
These positive feelings are our motivation to play Tennis again and again.
The 3 human needs that seem to be most relevant in Tennis are aggression, curiosity, and
connectedness. As humans we have a natural need to try and beat our rivals, which can also
be called our aggression drive. We also have a natural curiosity, which stems from the fact
that if we solve problems and find things out we increase the likelihood of survival and doing
well in this world. Last but not least we have a basic human need to be connected to others
and do things in a group. Generally we prefer to play Tennis in a group and feel connected to
other people in our tennis club for example. (This idea stems from Oliver Heuler’s book on
the psychology of Golf)
Today we live in a society that values pleasure without effort and ple asure is readily
available for almost everyone, which is causing a lot of proble ms for people!
Our brains have allowed us to invent so many things that have made it easy to trigger lust in
our brain which was previously only available with lots of effort. We can go to the
supermarket and buy delicious food without much effort. If we want to enjoy skiing, we can
take the lift up the mountain and don’t have to climb up anymore. If we want to listen to good
music we can get everything on the Internet. If we want to experience an adventure we go to
see a movie rather than experiencing a real life adventure. The list goes on and on.
Basically we keep finding ways to satisfy our needs quicker and quicker and with less
effort. As a result we need ever increasing doses!
When we look at nutrition for example, we see this happening with sugar. People need ever
increasing doses of the drug to feel good and this is causing all sorts of problems in the form
of obesity and many other health issues.
So what does this mean for your tennis game ?
You need to find a motivation that is long-lasting and that rewards you for your efforts instead
of aiming for pleasure without effort, which is what we are oftentimes conditioned to do. A
lot of people play Tennis mainly because they want recognition from others.
Recognition in and of itself is not a great motivator because it is extremely dependent on
others and on your s uccess!
Every tennis player experiences times where he or she is not super successful and if your
primary motivation to play Tennis is recognition from others then your motivation will die off
during these times. Another reason why recognition is not a great motivator is that it takes a
long time to get recognition. That makes it difficult to stay motivated while you are practicing
endless hours.
A better motivation on the tennis court is to fulfil your basic need to solve problems!
You need to focus on satisfying your curiosity about the game and this will result in
long-lasting motivation!
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In sports psychology this is often referred to as intrinsic motivation versus extrinsic
motivation. With intrinsic motivation the task in and of itself motivates you and with extrinsic
motivation you are motivated by extrinsic rewards or recognition.
The problem with extrinsic motivation is that it often leads to a loss of intrinsic
motivation!
Someone starts playing Tennis and really enjoys playing the game. Once that player gets to a
high level though, extrinsic rewards like recognition or money start playing more and more of
a role. At the end of this whole process you become so focused on the rewards and forget to
enjoy the process, which results in frustration and a lack of motivation.
Once you understand this and you start going on the court with the intention of enjoying
the process of solving problems on the tennis court, you will experience a lot more
satisfaction and this will become addicting in the long run!
We have all heard the saying that someone plays for the love of the game and this is exactly
what happens when you develop this motivation. The problem is that we tend to forget about
this curiosity because in our society we are so focused on rewards and recognition.
Once you put your focus on the rewards and recognition that you might get for winning
in Tennis, you start to forget that playing Tennis in and of itself without any re wards or
recognition is fun!
The rewards and recognition in and of itself are not bad and they definitely do feel good to
everybody but the point is that once your focus is more on the rewards and recognition you
will loose that sense of playing for the sake of playing Tennis and eventually your motivation
will vanish!
Last but not least I would like to remind you that games can be a great motivator and they
should be used regularly in my opinion on the tennis court.
Different players get fun from different kinds of games. As soon as players start getting
serious about their tennis game the tendency will often be to forget to have fun on the court.
For those of you that started playing at a young age try to remember how much fun it was to
play group games when you first started playing.
Getting too serious about it can often hinder your performance and that’s why I always
recommend including some games on a regular basis. It really doesn’t matter what you go
with here but including some fun and games into your regular practice routines can do
wonders for your motivation!
Action Steps – Motivation:
Realize That Pleasure With Effort Is The Key To Long- Lasting Motivation
The Key Is To Find Enjoyment In The Improvement Process
Recognition From Others Is Nice But Should Not Be Your Primary Motivator
Regularly Include Fun And Games In Your Practice Routines
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10. Confidence
We all know how important confidence is in Tennis and I am sure all of you have had high
confidence at one point in your tennis career before. Let’s take a quick look at what
confidence actually is and how you can develop it. From Dictionary.com I got the following
definition: Belief in oneself and one’s power and abilities
To me confidence really comes down to trust in your own abilities. I am sure all of you
have experienced that feeling of walking on the court knowing deep down that you are
playing well at the mome nt and therefore you are very confident that you will win the
match!
It is a great feeling and one of the reasons we play Tennis. It simply makes us feel good to
master a difficult skill and apply it in competition.
So where does confidence actually come from and how can you develop it ?
You can only get real confidence in Tennis from winning lots matches!
Think about Novak Djokovic in 2011. He was playing exceptionally well and he won a lot
of close matches. This kept his confidence high and at times I am sure he felt invincible on
the court.
So now you might be thinking: How does that help me ? How can I win more matches to
gain more confidence ?
In order to win a lot of matches you need one other thing and that is skills. Skills are the
basis that you need if you want to develop more confidence. Without skills no wins and
that equates to no confidence. To sum things up we can look at this formula:
Better Skills = More Wins = More Confidence
So going back to Djokovic we can see where all that confidence comes from. He has
developed phenomenal tennis skills over the years. Djokovic has excellent athleticism,
excellent technique, he has become really tough mentally and he also plays smart aggressive
percentage Tennis.
So what if you have low confidence at the mome nt and you are simply not playing well ?
In this case there must be a reason for that low confidence and usually it is a lack of
certain skills. The cases where players have the skills but simply can’t perform in a
tourname nt do exist but they are relatively rare!
So in this situation I suggest that you take a close look at your tennis skills and analyze what
might be missing. A great start would be to ask one of your regular practice partners because
they usually have a good idea of your strengths and weaknesses.
Contrary to popular belief low confidence in and of itself is usually not the problem. In
most cases there is a lack of certain skills that is the proble m and that has led to this
situation of low confidence!
There is one more important aspect about confidence that I want to remind you off. You need
to be smart about what tournaments you play in order to assure that you maintain your
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confidence. If you play really tough tournaments all the time where you play against higher
ranked opponents in the first round then you could develop low confidence quite easily
without actually playing bad. For me a good rule of thumb is to pick your tournaments so that
you end up winning roughly 70% of your matches. This assures that you get enough tough
matches without hurting your confidence.
Action Steps – Confidence:
Focus Your Efforts On Developing Skills And Confidence Will Follow
Better Skills = More Wins = More Confidence
Real Confidence Comes From Winning Matches
11. The Zone Or Flow
When you play Tennis you can get into this wonderful state often called the zone. When you
are in the zone it appears as if time flies by and you are really enjoying what you are doing.
We’ve all had this feeling before, for example when you are solving a difficult puzzle, fixing
your car or playing Tennis. These kinds of tasks put you into a state that is often called flow
where you forget everything that is around you and you are simply focused on completing the
task.
In his excellent book, Flow: The Psychology Of Optimal Experience, psychology
professor Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi explains that in orde r to get into the flow state you
need a challenge that is neither too difficult nor too easy.
If a challenge it too difficult then we end up with anxiety and if a task is too easy then we end
up bored. Csikszentmihalyi argues that humans are happiest when they are stretched to their
limits, either physically or intellectually, in an effort to accomplish something difficult and
worthwhile.
And that I believe is a big part of the attractiveness of playing Tennis. There are so many
levels in Tennis and everybody can find the right challenge for themselves. I am sure almost
every tennis player has at least somewhat been in this state where you are playing a match and
you are completely lost in the experience. Every ounce of your body and mind are focused on
the goal of winning the tennis match and there are no conflicting thoughts in your head.
That’s the state of flow and that’s what we strive for on the tennis court!
Getting into the zone is difficult though and it does not happen all the time when we play
Tennis. Several things can get in our way, including our fears and worries about the
outcome of the match. Our mind tends to wande r a round, we criticize ourselves and that
stops us from entering the flow state.
We could also simply not have the right challenge. Think of the player that is in a group with
weaker players. Oftentimes this player will get bored quite easily. Having a good group or the
right competition is definitely one key aspect to getting in the flow.
Nevertheless, you can also get into the flow when you are practicing with weaker players. In
the end it is all about setting your self the right challenge. So if you are playing a weaker
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player you could focus all your energy on not losing a single game for example and that could
get you into the flow!
I believe that the happiest tennis playe rs are the ones that are constantly setting
the mselves challenges that they can influence no matter who they play against. These
playe rs are constantly working on something they have control over and they usually
improve on a regular basis.
What Does It Take To Get Into The Zone ?
Getting into the zone is something that can and should be trained in my opinion. The first
steps are usually the most difficult. When you start a task or a challenge it is usually hard to
focus all your attention on it. Getting over that initial hump is crucial to get into the zone!
Steps You Can Take To Get Into The Zone On The Tennis Court:
1. Attention
In order to enter the zone you have to focus your attention on the task at hand. It sounds
very simple but it actually is not. Our mind likes to wander around and that’s oftentimes
when we start to worry and criticize ourselves.
So in order to enter the zone more often you should practice bringing your attention back to
the task at hand, which is the next point in Tennis. After every single point focus your
attention on the next point and what you can do to play that point optimally.
2. Avoid Distractions
Distractions are everywhere when you play Tennis. Anything that’s happening around the
court can potentially be a distraction. Most players get distracted by the people that are
watching them play because they think about what these people might think of them.
In order to avoid these distractions when you are playing Tennis it is extremely
important that you avoid wandering around with your eyes between points. Try to focus
on your strings and it will be much easier to focus your attention on what you should be
doing next.
Think of someone like Maria Sharapova for example. She is someone that enters the zone
regularly and what helps her get there is the fact that she turns around after every point and
focuses on her strings. Players that have such a deep focus will usually not even recognize
what’s happening around the court and if you ask them after the match they will not be able to
tell you who was watching and what was going on around them because they were so focused
on the task at hand.
3. The Right Challenge
As mentioned previously, you need the right challenge in orde r to get into the zone. The
challenge cannot be too difficult because that will result in anxiety and it cannot be too
easy because that will result in boredom.
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4. Increasing Challenges
Getting into the flow is a constant struggle between a challenge that is too difficult and a
challenge that is too easy. Another important aspect to consider is the fact that if you practice
properly, your skills will continuously increase and therefore you need to increase the
difficulty of the tasks that you perform.
Performing the same practice routine over and over will lead to boredom unless of
course the exercise can still be improved or performe d better. Therefore you need to
strive for increasing challenges either through a ne w exercise/drill or through perfecting
the exercise that you are performing even further.
Typical examples on the tennis court are ever increasing difficulty levels in drills. You start
out trying to hit 10 balls down the middle without making an error at your regular playing
speed and once you achieve that you go to 20 balls and so on. Another option would be to
stick with 10 balls down the middle and once you have that achieved you hit a little faster and
try to make 10 down the middle that way.
This sounds very simple but the reality is that most tennis playe rs keep doing the same
practice routines over and over without clear goals and increasing challenges.
It is all too common to go out and just hit for a little while down the middle, then hit crosscourt for a while, and finally hit some volleys and serves. This practice routine does not have
specific goals and increasing challenges and therefore it will end up being boring!
5. Clear Short Term Goals
In order to enter the zone it is important to have a clear goal in your mind that you can
achieve in the near future. The goal should be worthwhile and motivate you to take
action!
A great example could be an upcoming tournament that is important to you. If you know that
the tournament is in two weeks and you know what you have to do to prepare properly, then it
should be relatively easy to get into the zone during practice. You have a clear short term goal
that excites you and you are focusing all your energy towards achieving that goal.
As a tennis player it is important to learn to strive for short term goals that get you
excited and that challenge you in the right manner. It could be a tourname nt or it coul d
be improving a particular aspect of your technique.
Set yourself a time frame that is challenging and focus all your ene rgy on the short term
goal and you have a good chance of getting into a flow like state!
When you have a bigger goal in mind then it is important that you break it down into clear
goals that you can achieve along the way.
6. Immediate Feedback
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Another important aspect for getting into the flow is immediate feedback. We want to know
whether or not we are on track towards achieving o ur worthwhile goal and getting feedback
as quickly as possible is crucial in this regard!
The fun part on the tennis court is in continually experimenting and trying out new things to
achieve your goal. If you don’t get feedback on a regular basis it beco mes really tough to stay
motivated because you don’t really know whether or not you are on the right track.
If you expe riment with your technique for example and you don’t get some sort of
feedback whether or not your efforts are leading you in the right direction, then the
chances of you quitting in the middle of the process are a lot highe r!
That’s why no matter what you are working on, you need to focus on those small little
improvements that are immediately noticeable rather than focusing too much on the big end
result of your efforts.
Good coaches will tell you exactly what the next steps in the process will be because then
you have immediate feedback whether or not you are on the right track!
If you find this topic interesting I highly recommend that you go ahead and read
Csikszentmihalyi’s book Flow.
Action Steps –The Zone Or Flow:
Find The Right Challenge To Get In The Zone
Too Difficult Will Make You Anxious
Too Easy And You Will Be Bored
Strive For Slightly Increasing Challenges In Your Practice Sessions
12. Managing Your Surroundings
We all know it is extremely hard for people to change their behaviour on the tennis court or
anywhere else in life.
One of the most effective and quickest ways I know to change your behaviour is to
surround yourself with people that you respect and that are already behaving the way
that you want to behave!
A typical example is the problematic junior player that always seems to cause trouble in his
regular practice sessions. He likes to mess around and as a result interrupts everyone else
from practicing. If you put this player into a practice environment with people that practice
hard in a focused manner, and these players are above him in the social tennis ladder, t hen
this player will usually change his behaviour instantly. He imitates what the people around
him are doing and we all do that to some extent.
You can make use of this very powe rful concept by surrounding yourself with other
motivated tennis players that have good attitudes and play Tennis for the right reasons.
This is in my opinion by far one of the most effective things you can do for your te nnis
game!
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It usually takes some effort and you might have to make some tough decisions but this is one
of the biggest steps you can take towards your goal of developing a great attitude and
enjoying the game more!
Think about the players that you play with on a regular basis and also about your coach if you
have one. Are these people that show you the way in re gards to having the right attitude on
the court ? If not then it might be time to reconsider!
Being connected to like-minded individuals is a strong motivator for us and another way to
take advantage of this is to join a team. This can oftentimes be a great motivation booster!
Action Steps – Managing Your Surroundings
Try To Surround Yourself With People That Already Do What You Want To Do
Connecting With Like-Minded Individuals Is Extremely Motivating
13. Affirmations
Affirmations can be an additional help to convince your subconscious mind that you can
achieve something that you desire to achieve. Oftentimes we have things in mind like: I want
to become the number 1 player on my team for example. This is of course a goal that I would
not recommend because it is not entirely under your influence. Nevertheless this it is a very
typical goal that players work with so it is worth exploring.
We might think that we can achieve our goal of becoming number 1 on the team but we are
also not 100% sure because right now we might be number 2 or number 3 on the team and so
far we have not been able to go higher.
What happens in these situations is that we set ourselves the goal to beco me number 1 but
inevitably our subconscious mind will have doubts about whether or not we can achieve that.
When this happens we get that inner voice that kind of blocks us from going where we want
to go. Oftentimes we cannot even describe why this is the case but there is something there. In
order to get over this hump it can be quite effective to use positive affirmations.
Limiting beliefs
We all develop certain beliefs about ourselves over the years. We have beliefs about our skills
as a tennis player, about our athletic abilities in general, as well as about our character and
personality. These beliefs develop over the years and sometimes they help us and sometimes
they hurt us. The good news is that these beliefs can be influenced with affirmations!
What Affirmations Are
Positive affirmations are short statements that you say out loud in order to influence your
limiting beliefs. Some people think of it as brainwashing; I prefer to think of it as regular
mental training. A typical affirmation could be to say out loud: I can win the upcoming match
this weekend.
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If the affirmations are rooted to a realistic goal, then saying them out loud often can lead to
more belief in your ability to achieve that particular goal.
Choosing The Right Affirmations
It is very important to choose the right affirmations and these can be different for everyone.
I believe that affirmations only work with realistic goals and you have to be very careful
in which goals you try to achieve with affirmations!
Generally with goals that are unrealistic as of now you will feel resistance while saying the
affirmations out loud. It will be a negative feeling inside while saying the affirmations and
that is your subconscious mind telling you that it is not quite ready to believe in what you are
saying out loud.
Affirmations have to be connected to reality. If you are trying to affirm yourself of something
that is simply not realistic, then your subconscious mind will figure this out and the
affirmations will not work.
So to give you an example: If you are a 4.5 level recreational player and you use affirmations
to make yourself believe that you are going to beat Roger Federer one day it will not work
and it will probably make you feel worse about your abilities in the long run!
You want to use affirmations with short and long-term goals that are realistic. A short term
goal could be to win the tournament next week and if that is realistic then saying something
like: “I can win this tournament” out loud will give you a better chance of actually winning
the tournament because your subconscious mind will believe in it.
If you have a goal that you think is realistic long-term but that still seems far away now, then
your subconscious mind will probably give you resistance while you say it out loud. That is
absolutely normal and in this case repeating the affirmation on a regular basis can get you to
believe in it more easily!
Let’s have a look at some example affirmations for tennis player that I think are useful.
Example Affirmations For Tennis Players:
-
I focus on the process
I am calm and focused
I will try my best and play to my fullest ability
I feel relaxed and confident
The next point is the only thing that I worry about
I will be satisfied as long as I try my absolute best
I never give up
I believe in myself
I deserve to win
Everybody makes mistakes and they are actually necessary to become a better player
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Everybody has different needs in regards to affirmations and you need to figure out which
ones are best for you. The examples above are a good starting point for most tennis players
though and these will reinforce a good attitude towards the game.
Practicing Affirmations
Affirmations can be quite effective but you have to keep in mind that your limiting beliefs
will usually be very persistent because you developed them over a timeframe of many years.
In order to get rid off your limiting beliefs with affirmations for good, you need to
practice the m on a regular basis and not stop practicing the m once you feel better!
Most people will start using affirmations and start feeling better and getting towards their
goals. What typically happens next is that they start using them less and less because they feel
like they don’t need them anymore. In most cases this is when old habits come back because
old habits are tough to get rid off and you end up in the same situation with the same limiting
beliefs that you had before!
I recommend to use positive affirmations on a daily basis whenever you feel that you need
them to achieve a certain goal. The important part is to find a routine that works for you. You
can say them out loud after getting up in the morning, before going to bed at night, or right
before your practice/match. All of these times can work but the important part is to find a
routine that you stick to!
I also recommend not to focus on too many affirmations at the same time. Try to stick to
maybe a handful of affirmations that seem most important to you and practice them over and
over.
Always keep in mind that affirmations are only a tool to help you get over the hump in
certain areas where you have limiting beliefs and they only work if they are realistic!
Just saying these affirmations out loud without taking the necessary actions to get your
game to the level you want it to be will actually be counte r-productive!
14. Visualization
Visualization is another tool that can help you get over the hump when certain limiting beliefs
are holding you back from achieving goals. Again visualization is just a tool though and even
though it can be effective, it is not nearly as effective as many people make it sound to be.
Basically with visualization you close your eyes and imagine or visualize those things that
you want to happen in the future. You want to do this in as much detail as possible. Sit or lie
down for about 5 minutes and focus entirely on your visualization.
Common things to visualize are winning upcoming matches, performing well in at
tournament, or hitting great serves for example. Generally I would recommend that you
visualize things that are largely under your control though.
Therefore, I don’t usually recommend visualizing yourself winning the upcoming tournament
for example and instead would recommend that you visualize yourself trying your best on
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every point, staying calm while playing a match, and accepting the outcome of each point
with ease.
It can also often be useful to visualize yourself beating an opponent that you have lost a lot of
close matches against previously even though this is of course not totally under your control.
It is easy to develop limiting beliefs in these kinds of rivalries and visualization can be an
effective tool.
15. Conclusion
I hope this ebook gave you a good idea of the attitude that you need to develop in order to
enjoy this sport for the rest of your life. The real key is to work on your underlying attitude
towards the sport!
Tools like affirmations and visualization can help you in certain as pects of your mental
game but real progress is made when you re-examine and adjust your ove rall attitude
and belief system towards the game of Tennis!
Below you can find a summary of the most important bullet points as well as a summary of all
the action-steps from the previous chapters. I highly recommend that you print out the
conclusion you are reading right now as well as the summary of action-steps and put it in your
tennis bag.
Additionally, you can find the checklist “Questions to ask yourself after every match” below.
Printing it out and using it on a regular basis is an excellent way to measure your progress on
the mental side of the game.
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Here are the most important bullet-points to re member:
-
-
Your goal in a match should be to prepare as well as possible for every point and play
it with 100% effort…nothing more and nothing less!
Negative thoughts like anger come from your thought patterns and expectations that
you have developed over many years
Practice no excuses and no whining! Just make it a rule!
Do not lie to yourself. Instead accept reality and then you can go ahead and improve
reality!
If you are frustrated with your tennis there are only 2 options: Either you lower your
expectations or you train smarter and/or harder so that your performance catches up to
your expectations. Most people need to readjust their expectations first, which will
result in less mental stress and then you can refocus on training smarter.
You will get respect for how you behave on the tennis court and your attitude and not
for how well you play!
You will not constantly improve. Two steps forward, one step back is normal
Being impatient and focused on results is the best way to slo w down your progress!
Seek short term rewards that help you achieve long term goals!
Solving problems, improving and battling with your self makes tennis so interesting.
Focus on that and the winning will take care of itself!
Change it, love it, or leave it is a great concept to apply to your tennis game!
The belief that performance will get you respect is usually the cause for nervousness
and mental problems on the tennis court
Letting your anger out will only make things worse. Acknowledge it, take a deep
breath, and you will learn to control it!
The best athletes control their thought patterns and with that they control their attitude
towards the sport
Read this ebook many times…at least 5 times. Repetition is the key to changing your
attitude just like it is the key to changing your technique!
Most players will work on this stuff, think that they have changed and then stop
working on it and eventually fall back into old habits. That is natural and if you are
aware of it you can counter it!
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Printable Summary Of Action Steps To A Better Attitude
Action Steps – Attitude:
Make Trying Your Best Your Primary Goal
Continuously Work On Your Attitude
Be Aware That Long-Term Change Is The Goal And
That Is What Makes It So Difficult
Action Steps - Proble matic Attitudes:
Measure Yourself Against Your Normal Form
Choose The Right Short-Term Goals That Motivate You In The Right Direction
Do Not Expect Justice On The Tennis Court
Learn To View Losses As Learning Opportunities
Keep Excuses To Yourself
Develop Realistic Expectations
Practice Not Reacting To Mistakes Over And Over
Action Steps - A Better Attitude:
Become Aware Of Your Mental Problems
Replace Bad Thought Patterns With Good Ones
Try To Copy The Attitudes Of Great Champions Like Nadal
Learn To Love The Challenge And The Hard Work
Realize That Phases Of Stagnation Are Part Of The Developmental Process
Focus On Solving Problems – That Is Where The Fun Comes From!
Be Realistic About Your Playing Level
Think: Change It, Love It, Or Leave It
Regularly Put Things In Perspective – It’s Just A Game
Action Steps - Fear On The Court:
Practice Not Making Excuses When You Are Playing Poorly
Tell Yourself Regularly: My Self-Worth Is Not Dependent On My Tennis Results
Show Mental Strength By Accepting Bad Shots And Moving On
If You Are Very Frustrated Look At Your Options:
1. Train Harder/Smarter 2. Lower Expectations
Realize That It Is A Gift To Be In Pressure Situations
Talk To The People Around You If They Give You The Feeling That You Will Not Be
Loved/Respected When You Perform Poorly
Think about your fear. Is the feared outcome really that bad ?
Action Steps – Controlling Ange r:
When Anger Comes Up Stay Cool And Ask Yourself Where It Is Coming From
Stay Calm, Take A Deep Breath, And Focus On The Next Point
Develop A Routine To Control Your Emotions Between Points
Learn To Control The Conversations With Yourself Between Points
Make A List Of Typical Negative Conversations And Develop A List Of What The
Conversations In Your Head Should Be Instead
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Focus On What You Can Control – Trying Your Best
Practice In Bad Conditions (Noisy, Windy, etc.)
Action Steps – Goals:
Develop Clear Goals And Regularly Remind Yourself Of Those
Write Down Your Goals And What Motivates You To Go After Them
Set Yourself Process-Oriented Goals Rather Than Outcome-Oriented Goals
A Great Goal: Stay Calm After Every Point For One Entire Set
Another Great Goal: No Commenting Out Loud After Every Point
Aim For No Excuses In Conversations After Matches
Another Goal: The Same Body Language After Good Points And Bad Points
Action Steps – Motivation:
Realize That Pleasure With Effort Is The Key To Long- Lasting Motivation
The Key Is To Find Enjoyment In The Improvement Process
Recognition From Others Is Nice But Should Not Be Your Primary Motivator
Regularly Include Fun And Games In Your Practice Routines
Action Steps – Confidence:
Focus Your Efforts On Developing Skills And Confidence Will Follow
Better Skills = More Wins = More Confidence
Real Confidence Comes From Winning Matches
Action Steps – Flow Or The Zone:
Find The Right Challenge To Get In The Zone
Too Difficult Will Make You Anxious
Too Easy And You Will Be Bored
Strive For Slightly Increasing Challenges In Your Practice Sessions
Action Steps – Managing Your Surroundings
Try To Surround Yourself With People That Already Do What You Want To Do
Connecting With Like-Minded Individuals Is Extremely Motivating
Checklist: questions to ask yourself after every match
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Did I play every point 100% regardless of the score and previous points ?
Did I take the risk of trying my absolute best and still losing ?
Did I manage to not bring up any excuses to myself or others ?
Was I truly present or was I thinking too much about the past and the future ?
Did I control my fear of looking bad in front of others ? (did I tell myself that you can
only look bad with bad behaviour and not with bad play ?)
6. Did I analyze my mistakes and take action to correct them ?
7. Did I enjoy the match regardless of the result ?
Whoever can answer these questions with yes is on a really good path!
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Influential Books
Below is a list of several books that have severely influenced this ebook. I am deeply thankful
to these authors because without their input I would not have been able to gain such a deep
understanding of the subject matter and share these ideas with you.
Olive r Heule r - Jenseits der Scores Oliver Heule r
This is a German book on the mental aspects in the game of Golf. The mental game of Golf
and the mental game of Tennis are of course closely related and this excellent book has
heavily influenced my ebook. Unfortunately, it is not available in English so far.
James Loehr – Tennis im Kopf
James Loehr is one of the world’s leading authors on mental sports performance. I used the
German version for this book but you can easily buy an English version of one of his tennis
related books and the information is always excellent!
Vic Braden – Mental Tennis
Vic Braden’s teachings have heavily influenced me on the technical aspect o f the game and in
this regard also on the mental aspect of the game. Mental Tennis is a great book that I can
highly recommend
Scott Belsky - Making Ideas Happen
Making ideas happen is a business book that focuses on the underlying circumstances that
cause projects to either succeed or fail. Improving your mental game is of course a project in
and of itself and the ideas on the project plateau as well as the importance of having people
around that support your project were a great influence on this ebook.
Mihaly Csikszentmihaly – Flow: The Psychology Of Optimal Expe rience
This book focuses entirely on what tennis players like to call “The Zone”. Flow is just another
term for it and it explains in detail the underlying mechanisms that help people get into a flow
like state.
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