Tennis Podcast: How To Improve Consistency
July 27, 2009 by PatrickCohn
Welcome to session number thirty one of The Tennis Psychology Podcast. Dr. Patrick Cohn at Sports Psychology for Tennis, is a mental game of tennis expert and helps tournament players, tennis coaches and parents improve confidence, focus, and composure using sports psychology strategies.
In this week’s tennis psychology session, Dr. Cohn talks with Ian Westmann of www.essentialtennis.com about improving consistency both physically and mentally. Many tennis players have trouble transferring their consistency from practice to matches. Listen to the podcast to learn more about how to improve your consistency in matches!
Ian Westmann is a graduate of the Professional Tennis Management Program at Ferris State University and played Division II tennis at Ferris. Ian is USPTA certifed tennis pro and teaches full time at the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, MD. The Essential Tennis Podcast focuses on fitness, technique, mental game and strategy.
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* Subscribe to Ian’s Essential Tennis Podcast at iTunes
*Download The Tennis Psychology Podcast #31 (right click and “save as” to your computer)
Subscribe to The Tennis Psychology Podcast via iTunes
*Submit your mental game of tennis question to Dr. Cohn at Peak Performance Sports
*Download a free tennis psychology report to improve your mindset between points
Improve Your Mental Toughness for Tennis Quickly with Dr. Cohn’s new Tennis Confidence audio program!
Tennis Podcast: Positive Thinking
July 19, 2009 by PatrickCohn
Welcome to session number thirty of The Tennis Psychology Podcast. Dr. Patrick Cohn at Sports Psychology for Tennis, is a mental game of tennis expert and helps tournament players, tennis coaches and parents improve confidence, focus, and composure using sports psychology strategies.
In this week’s tennis psychology session, you’ll learn how improve your positive self-talk. Many tennis players talk negatively to themselves during matches, which causes them to lose confidence. Dr. Cohn teaches you the top mental strategies to talk positively to yourself and improve your tennis confidence.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
*Download The Tennis Psychology Podcast #30 (right click and “save as” to your computer)
Subscribe to The Tennis Psychology Podcast via iTunes
*Submit your mental game of tennis question to Dr. Cohn at Peak Performance Sports
*Download a free tennis psychology report to improve your mindset between points
Tennis Podcast: A Mindset for Trust
July 12, 2009 by PatrickCohn
Welcome to session number twenty nine of The Tennis Psychology Podcast. Dr. Patrick Cohn at Sports Psychology for Tennis, is a mental game of tennis expert and helps tournament players, tennis coaches and parents improve confidence, focus, and composure using sports psychology strategies.
In this week’s tennis psychology session, you’ll learn how to perform in a trusting mindset in matches. Many tennis players try to be too perfect or coach themselves through their shots. Dr. Cohn teaches you the top mental strategies to win ugly when you’re not playing your best.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
*Download The Tennis Psychology Podcast #29 (right click and “save as” to your computer)
Subscribe to The Tennis Psychology Podcast via iTunes
*Submit your mental game of tennis question to Dr. Cohn at Peak Performance Sports
*Download a free tennis psychology report to improve your mindset between points
Andy Murray’s Tournament Mindset
July 8, 2009 by PatrickCohn
Andy Murray’s performance at Wimbledon hasn’t disappointed fans. The Scot came out with both guns blazing to dismantle Stanislas Wawrinka in the 4th round in a thrilling five-setter 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3.
Not to mention that a Brit hasn’t won Wimbledon for 73 years since Fed Perry in 1936. Murray isn’t worried about carrying the hopes of a nation on his shoulders. He believes he can win Wimbledon.
“I said at every tournament I play I go in with the mentality that I’m gonna win the tournament. I think if you don’t, then when you get into a winning position, you know, you get nervous or you’re not sort of expecting it. You know, sometimes that can, I don’t know, get to you mentally,” said Murray.
Andy Murray is all about not playing to your comfort zone. When you play to a comfort zone, you expect a certain result. You might expect to lose against a player seeded higher than you.
When you are playing better than expected (such as leading against the player seeded higher than you), you start to tighten up, try to avoid mistakes and sit on your lead. When you do that, chances are, your lead will slip away and you start to lose confidence. Against an experienced player, regaining that momentum may be an uphill battle.
What’s the solution to playing beyond your comfort zone? Andy Murray suggests you believe in your skills.
“I think if you go into every match believing you can win and giving it your best shot, then, you know, you’re not gonna be totally shocked if you get to that position where you’re serving for the match or whatever,” said Murray.
Approach each match without expectations, but with high confidence. It doesn’t matter that your opponent beat you three times before or your opponent’s seeding at the tournament. What matters is the current match, shot and strategy. When you’re in a position to win the match, the key is to play freely and continue to go for your shots.
Jankovic: How to Improve After Losses
July 7, 2009 by PatrickCohn
Jelena Jankovic fell to American qualifier, Melanie Oudin in the third round of Wimbledon 6-7, 7-5, 6-2. Jankovic attributed her unexpected loss to the heat, making her feel exhausted and dizzy.
No matter if you are playing under tough conditions or aren’t playing your best tennis, losing can be hard to accept. No tennis player likes to lose. After losing a match, you might become frustrated, which can cause you to lose confidence and motivation.
You won’t play every match perfectly. And you won’t win every match either. Losing is part of the game. For Jankovic, losing becomes an opportunity to improve her game.
“But, you know, every time you lose, it’s of course disappointing. Nobody likes to lose. It’s tough to accept losses, but you just have to try to learn, you know, from the losses. And I think from losses you learn much more be when you’re winning,” said Jankovic.
Losing can give you an opportunity to find out which parts of your game needs improvement. If you win a match, you might not look at why you won or what you need to work on. If you lose, you’ll want to get better, which may mean working on your weaknesses.
It’s easy for you to beat yourself up after a loss or be overly-critical of your performance. This doesn’t help your confidence. You should wait until your negative emotions about the match subside, which could be 20 minutes later or the next day.
Then, look at your performance objectively. You’ll want to think about what you did well during your match. You might notice that your forehand down the line got you out of trouble or that you executed your strategy well. You’ll also want to assess parts of your game you have improved such as your backhand slice or the placement of your second serve. When you think about what you did well, this can help boost your confidence.
You’ll also want to look at what you didn’t do well. Where did you lose most of your points? What was your opponent’s strategy? For example, you might notice that your opponent’s strategy was to bring you into the net and lob over your head. You’ll want to find the weak areas of your game and structure your practice to work on those weaknesses.
The bottom line is that losing is part of sports. Instead of getting upset and losing confidence, you can look at your losses as opportunities to learn and improve your game.
Tennis Podcast: Take Practice to Matches
July 5, 2009 by PatrickCohn
Welcome to session number twenty eight of The Tennis Psychology Podcast. Dr. Patrick Cohn at Sports Psychology for Tennis, is a mental game of tennis expert and helps tournament players, tennis coaches and parents improve confidence, focus, and composure using sports psychology strategies.
In this week’s tennis psychology session, you’ll learn how to take your practice game to matches. Many tennis players play tenatively and try to avoid mistakes. Dr. Cohn teaches you the top mental strategies to perform freely and improve trust in your game.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
*Download The Tennis Psychology Podcast #28 (right click and “save as” to your computer)
Subscribe to The Tennis Psychology Podcast via iTunes
*Submit your mental game of tennis question to Dr. Cohn at Peak Performance Sports
*Download a free tennis psychology report to improve your mindset between points
