Expectations And The Mental Game of Tennis

High expectations can sink young tennis players’ confidence. Let’s start with some definitions. Expectations are kids’ judgments about their performance, usually based on end-results or statistics. Confidence is athletes’ belief in their ability. Confident tennis players with a strong mental game of tennis do not place judgments on their performance or focus on performance outcomes and statistics during a match.

High expectations can cause athletes to question their ability, avoid making mistakes and under-perform.

Let’s take a look at Jon, a 12-year-old tennis player who often begins matches telling himself that he has to hit forehand winners and win the match without dropping a game, in addition to winning 100% of net points won and break point chances. His coach often holds similarly high expectations for Jon, which he quickly adopts as his own.

If Jon begins a game by missing a few shots and losing points, this can destroy his mental game and tennis confidence because he thinks he is under performing. He starts playing more tentatively, worried that he’s going to make even more mistakes.

He gets frustrated, then begins to try too hard. He keeps trying to make “perfect” shots. But he feels controlled and tight. He feels like a failure because of his overly high expectations. He needs to play in the moment more and rely more on his natural ability.

Not only does Jon have to cope with the expectations he imposes on himself. He must deal with his coach’s expectations. Once his coach starts pointing out mistakes or pressuring Jon to hit winners, he freezes up even more. He starts focusing on avoiding mistakes—avoiding hitting the ball out, for example.

Not matching his expectations, Jon gets frustrated, and doubts his abilities. He begins to wonder how he’s ever going to return his opponent’s shots. He starts punishing himself for not performing up to his expectations. End result: He sinks his own mental game of tennis!

Instead of indulging in such negative thinking, Jon needs to think about his positive qualities: his strength, his coach’s belief in him, his hours of practice and his ability to win points in the past.

Remember: if your tennis junior has strict expectations, fails to meet her expectations, and begins focusing on her errors, she crushes her self-confidence and thus her mental game of tennis.

Jon’s self-confidence would not sink so quickly if he entered the match with no expectations about how he SHOULD perform. Jon’s coach and parents could help him by telling him to forget about the score or his statistics and focus on executing shots or his strategy. They should help him play “in the moment.”

Jon should look at the ball and hit the ball without attempting to make a perfect shot or without trying to avoid an unforced error. He should react to the target and trust himself.

He should also focus on what’s happening right now—not on the score or the win. Jon could concentrate on playing one point at a time, or staying committed to his match strategy. His coach could also remind him to focus on these small objectives or mini-goals, rather than on the score.

As parents and coaches, you can keep an eye out for tennis kids with high expectations. They often:

• Set unrealistically high goals for themselves
• Beat themselves up mentally when they don’t perform to their expectations
• Call themselves names–“loser,” “choker,” and “wimp”–when they make mistakes
• Feel pressured to perform well for parents, coaches and peers
• Play it safe and don’t take risks when they get ahead of their opponents because they want to protect their lead.

Parents and coaches need to help these young tennis athletes set small, manageable goals and reward them when they achieve them. You’ll find that your kids’ mental game of tennis should improve.

Mental Game of Tennis and Kids’ Confidence

In my last article, I discussed the top five mental game of tennis confidence busters for tennis juniors. Why are these so important? It’s simple. Tennis juniors cannot achieve their potential without feeling self-confident.

The top five confidence killers I touched on are: high expectations, perfectionism, self-doubt, negative feedback and not believing in one’s self. In this article, I give you other tennis mental tips and explain confidence killers 6-10 for tennis kids.

6. Having trouble letting go of negative experiences
All athletes have been through rough experiences. Great athletes, however, don’t let these experiences hinder their performance. They can quickly adapt and get past their mistakes, then focus on the moment. However, athletes who dwell on past mistakes often struggle with confidence issues and perform tentatively for fear of making more mistakes. For example, a young tennis athlete may avoid using her topspin serve when she double faulted a game away in the last match.

7. Lacking confidence in method or mechanics
Tennis kids who don’t believe in their method, coaching or mechanics have trouble believing in their abilities. Many perfectionists think they must possess perfect mechanics in order to perform well or win. When something does not feel just right, they may doubt their abilities.

8. Worrying about making mistakes
Tennis juniors who focus too much on avoiding mistakes doubt their ability to perform well. After missing a few shots, they try to avoid the same mistakes. These tennis juniors might stop rushing the net if they miss a few shots in a row or get lobbed over, for example. The doubt consumes their thinking quickly. Making mistakes in competition is a huge confidence buster for many junior players. They don’t yet possess a stable level of confidence. Their confidence fluctuates with every point or shot.

9. Experiencing nagging injuries
Unfortunately, injuries are a part of sports. When tennis kids focus too much on the injury, they have a hard time performing their best. Their worries about not being 100% physically fit cause their confidence to sink. Kids who aren’t 100% physically fit may use their injuries as an excuse to stop playing their best.

10. Experiencing poor pre-match warmup
I mentioned in Part 1 of mental game of tennis Confidence Busters for Tennis Kids that many athletes gain confidence from their practice and training. If they judge their pre-match warm-up harshly before playing, they lose confidence. They begin to think that a poor warm-up translates into playing poorly in the match. This is called a over-generalization. Their doubts start to sabotage their confidence before the match even starts and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Mental Game of Tennis and Self-Confidence

The mental game of tennis is critical to succeeding in tennis. A good mental game in tennis builds self-confidence. The top tennis players rely on their self-confidence to push through adversity, take risks and continue to work on their game. Self-confidence can also make young athletes feel successful in tennis by helping them overcome doubts.

It’s important to understand what destroys a young tennis athlete’s mental game and confidence. Here are some quotes from kids and teens about what undermines their confidence or their belief in their abilities:

“The major problem is my parents,” says Lauren, a 12-year-old who plays soccer, Lacrosse, basketball and tennis. “Dad’s cheering embarrasses me. Just before I shoot in soccer, he yells, ‘Pull the trigger!’ It’s so awful.”

“I’m naturally not good at sports,” says Robbie, age 12, who fences. “I don’t have the right body. I’m weak, have no muscles and can barely lift 10 pounds.”

“I wonder if I am going to shoot a good round of golf before I start. I doubt I can stack up to the competition and if I am good enough,” says Erica, age 15,

Generally, junior tennis players say they have a better mental game and feel more confident when they:

• Have many successful experiences in practice and games
• Feel support from friends or family members
• Attend practices
• Perform well in practice
• Have access to good coaches
• Have access to good equipment
• Are fit
• Eat well
• Are mentally prepared
• Believe they have strong physical abilities

Tennis kids’ confidence and mental game of tennis is linked in large part to the kind of “input” they give themselves or receive from coaches, parents, or teammates. It’s also affected by their past performances. Here are tennis kids’ top five confidence killers:

1. Holding high expectations
Tennis kids with high expectations generally experience “all or nothing” thinking. They may tell themselves, “I should not double fault,” an expectation that even pro athletes wouldn’t impose on themselves! When athletes have extremely high expectations, they set themselves up for feeling like they failed.

2. Being a perfectionist
Perfectionists cripple their confidence by expecting to have a perfect match, experience a mistake-free performance or win the match 6-0, 6-0. Such accomplishments are rare in tennis, but perfectionists aim for them.

Perfectionists are hard on themselves and criticize their slightest mistakes. They analyze each point in minute detail, focusing on their bad racquet preparation, terrible footwork and horrible shots. They have a hard time enjoying tennis because they’re so determined to perform without making mistakes.

3. Harboring self-doubt
Young tennis athletes who doubt their abilities are often nervous, anxious or fearful. That’s not to say that even top athletes experience doubt at times. Young tennis athletes whose self-doubt hurts their confidence may feel inadequate, unable to perform when others are watching–such as a coach, parent or official- inferior to the competition, or may become hesitant when faced with adversity or opposition. For example they may become nervous when they must win a third set or tie break to win the match.

4. Holding on to negative feedback
Some athletes are particularly sensitive to negative feedback from parents or instructors. They hold onto it and it turns into their own negative voice inside their head. They might tell themselves, “Everyone thinks I stink, so I must stink.” They may do this after a coach focuses only on their mistakes, when parents point out only the down side of their performance, or when opponents criticize them.

5. Failing to believe in self
When young tennis players don’t believe in themselves, they question their ability to perform. They ask themselves, “Did I practice hard enough this week?” or other questions. Self-doubt is the most damaging to an athlete’s confidence. For example, some young athletes doubt their ability to execute a backhand down the line but still manage to hit the shot they had intended. Athletes who don’t believe in themselves often have defeatist attitudes and use negative labels to describe themselves such as “I can’t finish off my tennis matches.” They wonder why tennis is worth the effort, since the outcome will likely be failure.

In my next article, I’ll discuss other confidence killers for junior tennis players and their mental game.

Tennis Mind Game: Tips for Tennis Parents

Often, parents have the best of intentions when they give their kids pep talks. They might say something like, “You’ve beaten this opponent before!” Or, “I want you to win this match in two sets.” Or, they might say, “Remember how to use your footwork, right? Make sure your racquet face is in the right position….”

Based on what I know about tennis and your mind game, pre-match pep talks like this – too much coaching from tennis parents – might not help tennis players perform their best in matches

Telling your young athletes they could win the match—or achieve some other target—often imposes expectations on them. Young players can take on these expectations as their own very quickly. When your kids adopt your expectations, they might feel pressure and bad about themselves if they don’t meet them. For examples, they also might even feel like they let you down.

Some tennis players go as far with their mind game to call themselves names (“I’m a terrible player”) or they might get frustrated or lose confidence (“I’m never going to be able to win a point at the net!”) Either way, you’ve inadvertently sparked your child’s high expectations with the potential to sink his confidence—when you probably intended to build it up!

When you give your young tennis players very specific and technical instructions before a match, you’re likely filling their heads with extra details they don’t need to be thinking about at that moment.

If you tell kids how to move to the ball, how their feet should be positioned, where their racquet face should be and where they should hit the ball, it’s too much information and too technical! If their heads are full of technical instructions, they’ll likely freeze up and play more tentatively.

Instead, with a good tennis mind game, kids must feel confident enough to play intuitively and freely based on their practice. Less information is often better before a match. Athletes must be free to react in a match situation and trust what they have learned in practice. That way, they’ll take risks, play freely and feel more confident.

Try to avoid those pre-match pep-talks or parental coaching sessions. What’s the most important thing you can tell your tennis player before a match? “Have fun out there!”

Award winning parenting writer Lisa Cohn and Sports Psychology for Tennis expert Dr. Patrick Cohn are co-founders of The Ultimate Sports Parent. Pick up their free e-book: “Ten Tips to Improve Confidence and Success in Young Athletes.”

The Mental Game of Tennis: Think Less

Tennis players I know spend a lot of time working with instructors and taking lessons to improve their mechanics or technique. You must work on your strokes to improve your game – this is a given. However, many players become too obsessed with perfect stroke mechanics, which interferes with their ability to “be a performer.”

How many “swing thoughts” or mechanical thoughts should you have when playing in tournaments? Most skilled tennis players use only one swing thought to help them make a solid shot such as “finish high” on the forehand. You want to be careful to not “train” your strokes when you are playing in tournaments. I call this a practice mindset, which is best for practice.

A good mental game of tennis means you should be in a performance mindset when playing. You are in a performance mindset when you trust in your skill that you developed from practice. Although it may sound correct to you, thinking a lot about how to make a good stroke can hurt you more than help you in tournaments.

I’m sure you have heard of the term “paralysis by over analysis”? When you focus too much on your mechanics during play, you can’t play intuitively. You are more worried about making perfect strokes than hitting your target or thinking about strategy.

Early in the process of learning a motor skill, most athletes are cognitive, analytical, and have to think about how to perform the right stroke. A beginning tennis player is forced to think about many technical aspects of the swing to hit a shot.

But with practice, your tennis skills become well-learned and thus you become less cognitive and more reflexive or reactive. With a lot of practice, your strokes begin to feel automatic. You begin to “see” the target and your stroke (off without conscious thought) does the rest for you automatically due to your practice.

I tell my students that to have a good mental game in tennis you must think that your training is complete (for the moment) when you play. You should enter the tournament thinking about your strategy. Let go of stroke mechanics and react on the court. Brad Gilbert calls this “winning ugly.” I call this playing functional tennis.

So how does a player with a superior mental game of tennis let go of the training mindset and trust her skills? Sometimes a simple reminder can help you let go of the mechanics and play functionally. I remind my daughter – age 10 – before she plays to let go of how to stroke the ball and just focus on her targets. See seems to understand.

Another way is to reduce the amount of technical details you focus on during a match. Instead of trying to think about six things you work on daily with your instructor, you might only focus on one thing. Also, if you can’t just think about target, you might feel what you want to happen instead of coaching yourself via verbal instructions as Tim Gallway, the author of The Inner Game of Tennis, would agree.

Tennis Mindset: Tap the Power of the Zone

All tennis players love the feeling of a well-struck shot. Those times when your tennis mindset is in the so-called zone, your mindset in tennis helps you achieve a heightened focus and perform at your peak.

Many tennis players who want to reach their potential are always in search of secrets to hop into the mindset of the *zone.* But getting into the zone is really not that difficult to achieve when the right mental game strategies are set into motion.

I will confess that it is difficult to enter a zone state EVERY time you compete. No one is perfect, but you can learn to develop the mindset of a tennis champion to help you get there more often!

What really is the zone? The zone is simply a mental state of total involvement in the present moment. You become immersed into the task of hitting one shot at a time. Another quality of the zone is that you lose the sense of time when you play.

So, if the zone is that simple, why can’t tennis players achieve this mindset every time they hit the court? Many of the top tennis players virtually do – like Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova, for example. But some players can’t enter the zone because they are overtaken by huge distractions such as fear of failure and worry.

The top tennis players know how to harness the mindset of the zone by using thoughts and images that have worked in the past to trigger a zone state. A tennis player joins her mind with the ball and court; the golfer becomes one with the club and the ball; and so on.

Getting into a mindset what will help you enter the zone may sound magical, but actually achieving this level of immersion is very simple. When you fully connect with a specific goal, such as serving an ace, attention is absorbed into that task only (the here and now only). Your mind is involved in the thoughts and images that help you execute a good serve only.

With a zone focus, worry, doubt, indecision, and other mental game or tennis traps are not allowed to enter your mind. When you are in this state of concentration, mental distractions are harder to take over your mind and you win the inner battle.

If you want to learn all my secrets for developing a mindset that will help you enter the zone, I suggest your look into my The Focused Athlete CD and Workbook Program.

Tennis Mind Games: Do You Crave Approval?

A big challenge for many junior tennis players mindset is that they are too concerned about what others think when they play. Worrying about what others think is a huge distraction to your tennis game to say the least.

I should say that you should care about other people close to you. However, caring too much about what others think about your game when playing a match is a distraction to your mental game of tennis. You can’t focus on each point and hit your best shots.

We call this social approval in my work as a mental game expert in tennis. Social approval causes you to want others to give you respect, admiration, or wanting to be liked. You can’t focus on playing smart tennis when you worry too much about what others think! Most of the time, you will avoid mistakes or bad shots – not a good mindset to instill peak performance.

I once worked with a young female tennis player who I will call Lisa. Lisa lacked confidence in her tennis game and wanted me to help her play with confidence. As we talked, it became clear to me that Lisa relied on other people for her confidence. If her coach or opponent did not say, “Good shot” to her after she hit a good shot, she would wonder why and lose confidence in her self.

She assumed that her coach really did not like her because she did not acknowledge when she hit a good shot. She would think to herself, “I guess my coach is not happy with how I am playing or thinks I am a crummy player,” and then proceed to lose confidence.

In addition, she was afraid of embarrassing herself when she played in tournaments. Her goal was to not lose 6-0 and 6-0 for fear of what others would say to her about her game. More importantly, what would they think about her as a person?

Some tennis players’ mind games go as far as basing their self-worth on their performance on the court! Be careful of making statements such as, “If I am a bad tennis player today, I guess I am not a worthy person.”

I’m sure you probably want respect from other players and your coach. To begin with a strong mind game, you have to let go of what others may or may not be thinking about you before you play. To get your head in the game, focus on your game plan, how to execute shots, and one point at a time!

To learn how to stop worrying what others think, check out The Fearless Athlete CD program.

Murray Wins with Confidence Not Expectation

Andy Murray has earned his position among the top tennis players in the world. Murray confidence in tennis is growing with his four titles this year, and recently victory at the Madrid Masters in Spain. Murray became the first Brit to win four titles in a year.

Andy Murray dominated Roger Federer in the semi-finals 3-6, 6-3, 7-5. Murray continued his winning streak defeating Gilles Simon 6-4, 7-6 (6) in the final.

He has been able to turn his weaknesses into strengths, which is a big boost to his tennis confidence and mental game under pressure. After his semi-final match, Murray said:

“Earlier this year a lot of people were saying that I needed to work on my serve and that it was one of my weaknesses. Now I think it’s one of the biggest strengths of my game. The serve was the key for me throughout the tournament.”

Andy Murray, like other tennis champions, knows how to improve the weaker areas of his game and does not ignore them. Murray learned from his losses and poor serving. He improved this part of his game, leading to greater mental strength and confidence overall.

Murray said that it’s tough to play in the finals when you are expected to win:

“He [Gilles Simon] was obviously more tired than me but I played a longish match against (Roger) Federer and emotionally it’s difficult to play against someone like him. To come out the next day and play a match you’re expected to win reasonably comfortably is tough.”

Murray’s consistency and determination throughout the tournament sets him apart from other players. Many players might have been emotionally drained after a big win over a top player like Roger Federer. Murray was emotional and mentally drained after the semi-final match, but was able to bounce back and regroup to play well in the finals.

However, Murray had no expectations of winning the title: “I didn’t come here expecting to win the tournament. I’d practiced very well but there is a difference between that and playing well. But now I’m building some more confidence,” said Murray.

Andy Murray realizes that transferring his practice game to competition is the key to tennis confidence and success. When it’s time to play, Murray must rely on his practice and preparation and trust in his skills. I instruct my students to not have any expectations, but instead play with confidence. Murray let go of expectations of winning and played with confidence – the ideal combination for your mental game of tennis attitude.

Andy Murray’s mind game and determination were the keys to help him win two critical matches in his career. Murray’s dedication to work on his weaknesses, improve confidence in his tennis mental game, and trust in his practice has helped him succeed in tennis.

Venus Williams Loves Tournament Pressure

Venus Williams defeated Flavia Pennetta 7-6 (1), 6-2 to win the Zurich Open title last weekend. Williams’ Zurich Open title was her second since 1999 when she played as a teenager.

One sign of a good mental game of tennis is the ability to raise your game under tournament pressure. Venus Williams said after the match that she likes to perform when the pressure is looming:

“I like playing when there’s a lot on the line; I really wanted to win this final, regardless of the fact it was the last year for the tournament or that it would put me in a very good position to qualify for the Sony Ericsson Championships. I haven’t played there in so long – I’ve had a lot of issues since then and I’m happy to finally be healthy and hopefully getting to go there, depending on what happens with the other players this week coming up.”

Williams went on to say that pressure is a positive motivator for her. You hear a lot about how pressure in sports can cause athletes to choke, fold, and under perform. But Williams has a different take on the effects of pressure on her tennis game:

“I love the pressure. I need it in my life. It is great to come here and play my best tennis of the week in the final against someone who is playing as well as she is.”

The top athletes in the world raise the level of their game when they feel under pressure. Venus Williams is one of those players. Williams loves playing when it means something to her. But it can also cause her to under perform when she does not have the proper incentive.

Many tennis players might crack under pressure. They under-perform or tank when matches get tough. Williams is able to use pressure to step up her game, improve her focus, and win matches. She needs the added incentive to help her dig a little deeper and give a special effort.

Venus Williams’ ability to enjoy and play well under pressure distinguishes her from other players. Playing well under pressure is one of the secrets to Williams’ tennis success, but it might also hold her back when she feels under-challenged by circumstances.

Coping with Mistakes: Tennis Mind Training

If you play tennis, mistakes or missed shots occur every time you play. This is where your mind training for tennis comes in very handy. In my experience as a mental game coach to tennis players, many players sabotage their own performance because they simply can’t let go of bad shots, unforced errors, or double-faulting for example.

Missing shots, double faulting, or blowing a big lead in a set happen often in tennis, but become a huge burden for many tennis players because it affects their game as they begin to make more mistakes and become more frustrated with their performance. Sometimes, it can cause players to blow the rest of the match because they simply can’t stop dwelling on the missed opportunity or mistake.

You’ve probably made a few mistakes during a tennis match when not playing your best that you were NOT able to quickly forget. You thought about that critical mistake for the rest of the match. I’m sure this did not help you enjoy your day and may have caused you to give up or tank the match.

Dwelling on mistakes is your number one distraction in tennis today. Most players can cope with external distractions, such as outbursts from an opponent easily. However, it’s a lot more difficult to cope with your own distractions caused by dwelling on a missed opportunity or faulty shot.

Can athletes use anger to help them perform better? Rarely, but it can happen. The best golfer in the world, Tiger Woods, gets angry on the golf course, but he is able make it work for him and not lose his composure. Tiger uses setbacks to help him focus better and be determined to make up for the mistake.

Why does a tennis player’s mind stay focused on past errors? Hitting a bad shot does not match what you expected of yourself. It’s that simple. You want to be at your best every point and think you shouldn’t make stupid mistakes, right? Some players may even display their anger or disappointment on the court in an attempt to show others they are really a better player than what’s happening.

When a tennis player’s mind begins to dwell on a mistake and gets negative with his performance, it is very hard to stop the negative cycle. It will unusually cause players to avoid committing future mistakes, which is not the ideal mind game for playing in the present moment.

The best tennis minds in the world use mistakes to help them learn and improve. They use mistakes to be more focused, more determined, and have a more committed mind game for tennis. They can let go of mistakes quickly so it does not affect them for several points or even games.

If you want to learn how I teach my students to let go of errors and improve their mind game for tennis, I suggest you pop on over to peaksports.com and read about The Composed Athlete: A 14-Day Play for Maximum Composure.

Learn how to boost your composure and mind game in tennis!

Next Page »