Overview
Virtually any competitive tennis player would say that being mentally tough is of paramount importance to be . However, when asked to define what that means or how to practice the mental part of the game, most athletes return with a shrug or a vague answer.
Our first challenge is identify and cultivate the qualities of a champion. Here is a list to start with:
- Courage
- Focus
- Balance of calm and intensity
- Intelligence analysis
- Confidence
- Humility
- Grit/Resiliency
- Composure
- Equanimity
- Response to adversity
- Ability to experience JOY while competing
- Being fully present in each moment
Our next challenge to develop an approach to managing the following phases of our tennis life:
- Off the Court
- Training
- Practice Matches
- Pre-Match
- During Match
- Between Points
- Between Games
- In Big Moments
- After the Match
The real work of mental training involves continual engagement in the process of honest self-reflection and having the courage to identify and address our needs and fears.
Path to Mastery
- Develop a clear and specific mental profile or persona that you want to adopt for yourself.
- Identify your main fears – related to tennis – and work on developing a harmonious relationship with those fears.
- Put intentional practice time into developing each of your mental qualities.
- Utilize process goals during practice and match play to reinforce the mental qualities that you are developing.
- Use a journal, discussion with others, or personal reflection to evaluate your development of your mental skills during practice and matches.
Next Actions
Beginner
Either use the list above or develop your own list of mental qualities and rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 5 on where you are at with each of these qualities. Pick one of the qualities that you have identified needing improvement and develop a plan to improve.
Intermediate
Develop a set of process goals related to your mental approach and commit to working on these goals during practice matches by writing down the goals and evaluating post-match how you did.
Advanced
Commit to tackling each item in your Mental Qualities list so you are able to self-rate at 4 or above in each category (on a scale of 1-5).
Tournament
Identify three mentally challenging situations, related to tennis competition. Develop and execute a plan for meeting and overcoming those challenges.