Mental Game of Tennis Tune Up or Overhaul?

Do you need a mental game tune up or complete overhaul? Today, I’ll explain how you know this.

A powerful mental game is critical to your success on the court….

In fact, many of the top players in the world believe that a strong mental game allows their physical talent to prosper:

“Confidence means a lot. It’s a very mental game. So if you’re winning a lot of matches, then things are going smoother on the court.”

~Novak Djovkovic

“I think more than anything, tennis is a mental game. If you tell yourself you’re not tired, lo and behold, you aren’t.”

~Venus Williams

How do you know if you can benefit from a mental game overhaul or just a tune up?

In my opinion, you need to stay on top of your mental game all the time. The sharper your mental game, the more consistent your physical game.

However, some players need more… They need a complete mental game overhaul.

Some signs you need a mental game “overhaul” are when:

• You consistently under perform in matches compared to practice
• Fear of failure has you paralyzed with tension on the court
• Your perfectionism gets in the way of closing out matches
• You worry so much about what others think you can’t focus on
  the court
• You feel terrible about yourself when you lose
• Your strokes are so controlled you miss easy shots
• You’re so frustrated with mistakes that you throw away sets
• You can’t comeback when losing because you lack composure

Truth be told, most tennis players know the mental game is important to their success, but do not understand how to use or apply it.

Until now….

My brand new “Tennis Confidence” audio and workbook program
teaches you, in simple terms, how to apply mental game strategies to your game.

From pregame mental preparation to between point mental routines to post-match mental toughness assessments, you learn my top strategies step-by-step.

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Only five days left to grab my entire “Tennis Confidence” Audio
and Workbook system for half-off! Special ends May 20 at midnight!

Tennis Confidence Audio and Workbook Program

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If you are in need to complete overhaul or a minor tune up, jump over to peaksports.com and see how my new program can do this:

Tennis Confidence Audio and Workbook Program

Your Tennis Confidence Coach,

Patrick J. Cohn, Ph.D.

p.s. Lots of folks are already taking advantage of my special half-off sale, which ends at midnight next Wednesday. Don’t let less talented players beat you anymore… Take action with your mental game today:

Tennis Confidence Audio and Workbook Program

Tennis Confidence: Play Functional Tennis

In my tennis confidence video series, you’ll learn about the top mental game reasons players have trouble taking their practice game to matches. Inability to perform up to ones potential in competition is the number one reason athletes contact me to help improve their mental game of tennis!

In the Tennis Confidence Video number 5, I discuss the fifth reason tennis players under perform in matches compared to their practice performance. You’ll learn why trying too be too perfect with your strokes in matches can interfere with your ability and prevent you from performing up to your ability in matches.

You learn why perfectionism in tennis cause you to tighten up and not hit the shots you are capable of in practice.

Watch my tennis confidence video below in HD:

• Watch Tennis Confidence Video 1 to find out why the academy mindset can hold you back in matches.
• Watch Tennis Confidence Video 2 to find out how fear of failure can get in the way of your performance.
• Watch Tennis Confidence Video 3 to find out how trying too hard can undermine your performance in matches.
• Watch Tennis Confidence Video 4 to find out how lack of self-confidence can hold back your game in matches.

Please leave your comments below about your (or your players’) experience with this mental game of tennis challenge…

Tennis Confidence Video 2: Fear of Failure

In my tennis confidence video series, you’ll learn about the top mental game reasons players under perform in matches compared to their performance in practice. This is the number one reason athletes contact me to help improve their mental game of tennis!

In Tennis Confidence Video number two, you learn how fear of failure prevents you or your players from performing freely and confidently in matches.

If you missed Tennis Confidence Video 1, check out why the academy mindset can hold you back in matches.

Watch tennis confidence video two below and be sure to leave you comments at the bottom of the page!

Please leave your comments about my tennis confidence videos below:

Nadal Mental Toughness: Know Who You Are

I love the psychology of tennis during big tournaments. The momentum shifts of a final match, such as Federer and Nadal in the 2009 Australian Open, are so fun to watch. Most tennis fans see the shots and strategy, but don’t pick up the psychology of the match – at least as much as I do.

As a tennis psychology expert, I could see Federer tighten up in the fifth set and make more mental errors causing more physical errors. Federer had 14 unforced errors in the set to Nadal’s two unforced errors. Did Federer feel the pressure to win and thus tighten up or did he mysteriously lose his ground strokes in the final set? Yes, the psychology of tennis usually determines the winner of the match.

Nadal didn’t have to say a lot after the final match, but I was able to catch a couple tennis psychology gems from his post-match interview…

He was asked if winning the match made him a better person, a crazy question, but a good answer from Nadal. I loved this quote from Nadal about not changing as a person:

“I just won an important title for my career. But I’m no better five hours before than now, no? When you win an important match. But you have to know before the match who you are and after the match you have to know who you are, too. You are the same, no?”
~Rafael Nadal

You have to know who you are. Great stuff from Nadal! What does he mean? From a psychology of tennis perspective, this concept may have helped Nadal win the tournament. I’ll tell you why. Many athletes define themselves through their achievement or lack of success. They allow their performance to dictate how they feel about themselves as a person. This is a problem for me in my work with athletes.

Maybe Federer put too much pressure on himself to win because he wanted to regain the #1 spot in the world? Maybe he wanted it so badly so he could feel better about himself whereas Nadal didn’t care how it affected him as the person? This is common in my work, but I can only speculate.

Your tennis psychology tip for today: Know who you are on the inside – the person – before you play. That way, your success or failure in the match will not change how you feel about yourself as a person and you can leave the court happy with yourself no matter what.

Your comments are welcome. Please post them below.

Sharapova: How To Learn From Losing

Winning is important for many tennis players. Winning can become so important that tennis players focus too much on winning during the match. Thinking too much about the outcome distracts players from the present moment and can be a source of stress. For example, some junior tennis players worry about disappoint a parent if they lose a match they are expected to win.

When you win matches, you obviously get a boost of confidence. Winning matches can validate your hard work and dedication. But not everyone can win in a single tournament – you only have one winner. In a draw if 32 players, 31 players are out played.

Professional tennis player, Maria Sharapova is no exception. In her career, Sharapova has lost 70 matches! Wow, that sounds like a lot of lost matches for a player that held the number one ranking for 17 weeks on the WTA. When asked about losing matches, Sharapova said she uses them to help her learn and become a tougher player:

“You know, I think I learn a lot from losses, and I think losses make me a lot tougher. You know, they make me want to go out on the practice court and work a lot harder. So probably, you know, I was very disappointed, and I went out there and I worked really hard. You know, I thought about the things I needed to work on. After Serena’s loss, I knew I had a tournament next week, and I was just so mentally ready and I wanted to win. I didn’t want to lose any more, especially after having match points. I didn’t feel like losing any more, and I didn’t want to lose. So it was just mentally and physically trying to get prepared to win.”
~Maria Sharapova

Some tennis players dwell on their losses, which tends to undermine their confidence. They may carry their last loss with into the next tournament and doubt their skills. When players dwell on their losses and mistakes, they can become frustrated, lose motivation, and even lose confidence.

The top tennis players with mental toughness learn use losing as a way to rebound, learn how to improve, and become more mentally tough. Maria Sharapova doesn’t like to dwell on her losses. Instead, she uses them to prepare better for her next tournament.

How does Sharapova get over losses? She doesn’t look at losing as a failure. Instead, she looks at losing as a learning opportunity; a way to get better for the next tournament. Losing motivates her to work hard and improve the weaker areas in her game.

Sharapova’s outlook on losing comes from her experience and tennis mental toughness. When Sharapova is losing in a game, she doesn’t lose her cool.

“I think confidence is a part of it. I think experience plays a big part in it. I feel that, you know, I’m a much more experienced player when I’m down love-30 on my serve. You know, it is the confidence obviously. I know it works well and I have a lot of experience behind my back and I feel good about myself, even when I’m down love-30. Obviously, it has a lot to do with confidence and having matches behind your back. But it also comes with experience. A year ago, when I was down love-30, I would panic and think, “What do I do now? I’m serving and I’m down love-30.”
~Maria Sharapova

Tennis players with mental toughness don’t hang their head over defeat and lose confidence. They do something about it… They bounce back stronger with renewed commitment. When you play a sport where you lose more tournaments than you will win, you have to maintain a positive outlook on your game or you’ll get swept away by doubt.

Today’s mental game of tennis tip: Always focus on two things you did well in every match, win or lose. Learn from your mistakes, but don’t beat yourself up over them. Honestly assess what you need to work on in practice to improve your strokes and mental toughness and set a plan to help you improve these areas of your game. In the next tournament, you’ll be a better player for it.

Commiting to Your Mental Game of Tennis

I recently had a tennis player sign up for one of my sports psychology programs, but who has trouble following through with it. He does this with every part of his tennis game. He also has trouble working on his weaknesses. Here is the post he made recently in my tennis psychology survey:

“How do I commit myself to work on the things I need to improve on? I know I should work on my mental game more, but I don’t. I know I should go out and serve a basket of serves a day, but I don’t. For some reason I’ll put in 4-5 hours of practice a day plus conditioning on top of that, but I don’t have the motivation to work on my areas of the game that I’m struggling with the most.”

He went on to talk about his commitment to his mental game for tennis:

“I love the sport to death. If I just had the commitment to the things I really need to work on, I feel my game will go up several spots. Here is an example. I signed up for this program with you…trying to stay committed with it. It worked out for the first few weeks. And then it stopped. I have no idea why. I feel I guess I just don’t need to work on it anymore, but that’s not true. I’ve done my share of research through other programs like yours and I chose yours out of six others… I love the way you speak and the way you deliver your material for me to comprehend. For some reason, out of the blue… I just stopped!”

Here is my response to this player:

Most players have a difficult time working on their weaknesses in practice because they are not as fun to practice – that’s why they are weaknesses! Many players love to pracitce their strenghts. To me, you don’t have a solid practice plan for tennis. Your practice should not be random. You should look at your match statistics and develop a practice plan based on your strengths and weaknesses.

I also sense you are searching for the secret to great tennis. I do believe you should be searching. It’s similar to jumping from instructor to instructor looking for the magic potion to help you become successful. In sports psychology for tennis, we talk about sticking with what works and keep going back to the well. Don’t go searching for the magic pill to make you a complete player.

As for neglecting your mental game of tennis or lack of commitment to it after starting a program, this is very common in my work. I think you started to improve you mind game for tennis, and then forgot to do what helped you improve your mind game. You abandoned what mental edge you had because you felt like you were “fixed.” This term does not apply in my work as a tennis psychology expert. You are never fixed and have a perfect mind game. You have to stay on top of it constantly – making adjustments with each match you play and every mental game error you make.

So you are doing many of the right things to help you become successful in tennis, but there’s no follow-through. You abandon what works or has worked and jump to something else. My suggestion is to develop a practice plan to help you succeed - mentally and physically – long term and then be patient. Set goals based on what you want to improve. Commit to your practice goals. Rely on experts and your stats to tell you what to work on with your physical and mental game of tennis. Stick with your program and make small modifications based on your match performance.

Do you have a question for me on sports psychology and tennis? Please take my tennis psychology survey.

Tennis Kids Just Want to Have Fun

OK, my daughter – age 10 – and I were practicing this week to prepare for a local USTA tournament. I got frustrated one day with her lack of motivation and inability to focus during practice. My philosophy: do it right or don’t do it at all. But I forget: young kids have difficult time focusing in practice when they don’t have enough fun or feel challenged. You know, Dad can be boring!

I can tell right from the start of practice that she was not going to focus or try - as if she did not want to be at practice. She wanted to go back to watching Hanna Montana. Dad was boring her to death… Tennis kids have a hard time understanding the relationship between focus in practice and their performance in matches. But I know better…. It’s not enough to show up, you have to practice with the same intensity, focus, and effort that you would give in a tournament.

We call this practice specificity in sports psychology for tennis. You want your practice to match the intensity and focus required to play well in matches. The closer you can make your practice to match situations, the more effective practice is. But I don’t think kids understand this relationship because they just want to have fun with friends and play games – at least this is my daughter’s orientation in tennis. She has to be excited about something to get her head in the game.

I cannot motivate her to focus in practice if she does not want give 100%. Maybe that’s why I get frustrated at times. I tried to tell her that everything she does in life, not just tennis, should be with full focus and effort. Why give anything less? So, I pulled out a “contract” we put together stating that he would give 100% focus and effort in her tennis practice. In return, I would treat her to an occasional smoothie or ice cream after practice. I reminded her we had a deal together.

We also discussed the idea that she should hit shots in practice as if she was playing in a tournament. She’s usually motivated and focused for tournaments. She responded, “But it’s just practice, not a match.” I guess she didn’t understand my point about practicing with the same intensity as a match. For this reason, you have to involve kids in play and games instead of just drilling them on the perfect forehand. Kids get bored quickly with “drills” if they do not have an outcome or game component to the drills.

I was able to cap a parental urge to push my tennis kid beyond what she was able to do that day, but learned a valuable lesson: Tennis kids must be self-motivated, have personal incentives to play, and push themselves towards success.

Do you want more sports psychology articles, videos, and e-books for tennis kids, check out Kids’ Sports Psychology.

Tennis Psychologist Not For Every Player

Using a tennis psychologist might not be for every tennis players. And I’ll tell you why in just a moment… But first I want to discuss the role of sports psychology in tennis.

The goal of sports psychology for tennis is to help players perform their best by improving the necessary mental game skills to excel in tournaments. Tennis psychology seeks to achieve the overall goal of performance improvement and enhancing consistency in your performance. No voodoo or psychoanalysis here. And sports psychology for tennis players is not about working with problem players or bad behavior.

I prefer to use the title “mental game coach” because I think players can relate to this title better than “tennis psychologist” or “sports psychologist.” Mental game coaching is education and not therapy – its’ another facet of performance enhancement similar to functional training.

I go out of my way to make sure my students understand that I am not trained in traditional “psychopathology” nor have a license to practice psychology. My professional background is in education, physical education, sports, and sports psychology. My experience also comes from the sports world as a former athlete, coach, and for the last 20 plus years, as a mental game coach to athletes.

How do you know when you need or could benefit from tennis psychology? I start by asking some important questions. Are you performing up to the ability you have shown in practice? Do you perform as well in tournaments as you do in practice? I am sure you know some fellow tennis players who have been labeled with “great talent” or physical skills, but have not performed up to their full potential. This is a primary sign that one’s mindset may be getting in the way of performance and when a tennis psychologist or mental coach is warranted.

Here are some other questions to consider:

• Are you so self-conscious that you worry about what others think about your performance?
• Do you have any doubts about your tennis game before or during matches?
• Do you get so anxious that you don’t have a calm mind or think straight in matches?
• Are you motivated by a fear of failure and does this affects your performance in matches?
• Do you get distracted easily by things that go on around you in your environment?
• Do you become easily frustrated when things do not go according to plan?

Working with a sports psychologist may not be appropriate for every tennis player. Not every person wants to “improve performance.” Sport psychology for tennis is probably not for recreational players who participate for the social component and to have a fun weekend. Moreover, if you do not spend time improving fitness or working with a coach, most likely you will not adhere to a mental coaching program.

Young tennis players whose parents force them to see a sports psychologist are not good candidates either when the child does not understand or see the utility in mental game coaching. It is very important that a player understand the importance of mental coaching and wants to improve his or her mental game without the motivation to satisfy a parent. Similarly, an athlete who sees a mental game expert only to satisfy a coach will not apply mental training.

Sports Psychology does apply to a wide variety of serious tennis players such as tournaments players. Most of my students (junior, high school, college, and professional athletes) are highly committed to excellence and seeing how far they can go in sports. They love competition and testing themselves against the best in their sport. They understand the importance of a positive attitude and mental toughness. These athletes want every possible advantage they can get including the mental edge over the competition.

Sports Psychology is about improving your attitude and mental game skills to help you perform your best by identifying limiting beliefs and embracing a healthier philosophy about tennis.

Below are some ways tennis players can benefit from a tennis psychologist or mental game coach:

• Improve focus and deal with distractions.
• Grow confidence and cope with doubts.
• Develop coping skills to deal with setbacks and errors.
• Find the right zone of intensity for optimal tennis performance.
• To instill a healthy belief system and identify irrational thoughts.
• Improve or balance motivation for optimal performance.
• To develop game-specific strategies and game plans.
• To identify and enter the “zone” more often

Want more information? Check out my sports psychology programs for tennis players.