Tennis Mental Training Is Key To On-Court Success
Mental training is all about conditioning yourself to perform or react in a specific way under under certain circumstances. Confidence is essential on the court, and through the course of a match a your confidence level can rise and fall. We all know the feeling – you're winning the match then you miss an easy shot, the next point your opponent hits a rare winner or maybe your opponent makes a bad call and you lose the point and all of a sudden your nerves kick-in. What was a second ago an easily assured straight set victory, now feels like a dog-fight. A single point can change the outcome of a match if you let it. We're going to give you some of the mental training techniques that you'll need to deal with critical moments in the match so that you can either turn the tide of a match or stay the course to the victory.
Tennis mental training develops a player's capacity to perform to the best of their ability. Mental training teaches you:
How to re-purpose and control your emotions and focus:
Most of the time, a player starts a match slightly nervous, but focused. As the both players ease their way into the match both players tend to start playing better and relaxing a bit. But, as the set comes closer to being decided, players tend to become more nervous with the added pressure of knowing each point is more important to the outcome of the set. Have you heard of the "critical" 7th game? Well, if you and you're opponent are have been holding serve then the score will be 4-3 or 3-4, on serve. It is at this point that the match usually starts to tighten and players start feeling the nerves. A break here will likely determine the outcome of the set. The player who wins the first set will more than likely win the match.
The Good News For You
So Here's what you're going to know, that your opponent wont: Armed with the knowledge that in the first set there are 2 times at which you and you're opponent are likely to be more nervous and susceptible to poor play, you can take advantage of these periods. Knowing what to expect is half the battle. The other half is allowing yourself to perform. Employ the mental techniques that we'll discuss below, especially at the begining of the match, during the critical 7th game and during other big moments in the match and you'll be a step ahead of your opponent. You'll be able to perform well while your opponent is at his worst… Cool Huh?
Make use of imagery:
Visualize: Take a moment… go back to the fence close your eyes and picture yourself executing your shots. Remember the feeling of hitting that shot. Take a breath and your ready to play.
Control your energy:
A player’s excitement level can be either too high or too low. Both can be equally detrimental when it comes to staying calm and focused. Too much adrenaline or feeling flat can lead to unforced errors.
- Really pumped up after a big point? Take a couple more seconds than you think you need before starting the next point. Put your racquet in your non-racquet hand and focus on relaxing. Stay take a breath, shake out your ams and stay loose. You'll want to keep the momentum going, but be aware that you don't want to get too hyped up. Getting super hyped-up can be a tremendous energy drain, especially if your opponent manages to rally and make a comeback.
- Feeling Flat? Pump yourself up. Stay positive. You're going to do much the same as if you were too excited. Stay loose, take more time than you need. But, this time get the blood flowing… jump up and down, jog a bit, keep your feet moving. What pumps you up? is it a song, a memory of a great win? Visualize that win, remember that feeling, or start singing that song to yourself (internally, or quietly of course). Most of all, keep telling yourself that you can do it.
- Nervous? Did you just miss a big shot? Don't get upset. Don't be judgmental. The worst thing you can do at this point is to get down on yourself because you missed the shot. If you do, you'll only put more pressure on yourself to make the next ball. Just tell yourself to play like you know how. Don't over think it…Stay relaxed and hit the ball. Don't focus on the outcome you want ie. hitting the winner, instead focus on the ball and hitting the right shot. Focus on relaxing and hitting the stroke that you've practiced, don't worry about whether the ball goes in our out. Yes, easier said than done, but work on it and you'll start getting the results you want. It comes down to trusting yourself to be able to perform.Tennis mental training prepares you to win by: calming the mind, being non-judgemental and trusting yourself and your muscle memory in order to preform at your peak.
So incorporate tennis mental training into your tennis program for on-court success!
