Curiosity

What Is It?

You likely already have a good idea what curiosity is. But did you consider that developing your sense of curiosity can be foundational to your growth as a tennis player. Perhaps you are curious as to why “Curiosity” is included in this list!

We will define curiosity as the desire to learn, explore, solve, discover, and search.

We recommend that you cultivate a healthy curiosity, which is independent of judgement, and apply it to your tennis game. A valuable curiosity practice transcends judgment as to whether you are doing things right or wrong, good or bad, you are simply identifying something to be curious about – related to your tennis game – and then you are noticing with great care and detail how you are navigating this aspect of your game.

There is no right and wrong on your tennis quest, just a willingness to forge ahead into the unknown and learn about who you are as a tennis player and a person.

Why Do It?

Developing a curious mind will lead you to fully realizing your potential. To the extent you can approach each day with a fascination and delight in the process of training and competing, you will find new levels of mastery and enjoyment. Cultivating a curious mind will keep you engaged and committed to continually improving. Approaching each moment of a tennis match with curiosity, rather than judgement, will keep you locked in and eager to rise to the challenge ahead.

How To Get Started

1. Purchase a small notebook that you can use to write down your intentions, thoughts, and observations.
2. Define some metrics of success for your tennis that extend beyond winning matches.
3. Before going on the court, identify an intention and a curiosity you want to explore.
4. As you play – perhaps on the changeovers, or at moments where you find your inner critic taking over your thought process – bring yourself back to your main curiosity that you would like to explore. In a gentle way, remind yourself about your curiosity and how valuable and enriching this exploration is to you.
5. Reflect. After the match, write some notes in your notebook about how your curiosity practice went. What did you learn about yourself? Have you discovered some new areas of important exploration?