Are You as Mentally Tough as Carlos Alcaraz?
Summary
Mental toughness often determines who wins in close tennis matches. While talent, fitness, and technique are important, the ability to stay composed under pressure is what separates champions from the rest. Carlos Alcaraz’s gritty win over Andrey Rublev at the 2025 Cincinnati Open highlighted the power of mental resilience in extreme conditions. By training your mental game, choosing your response in tough moments, and reframing challenges as opportunities, you can strengthen your mental toughness and improve your chances of closing out tight matches.
How can you tip the scales in your favor during tough matches? A lot goes into determining the winner of tennis matches. However, later in matches, one factor becomes the predominant contributor to winning, and that is mental toughness.
Talent is an ingredient of success, but if you don’t believe in your abilities, talent will not help you. Peak conditioning is an essential element of winning, but it’s not enough if you give in when matches become challenging.
Sound technique is a component of winning, but if anxiety takes over late in a match, your technique will be hampered. The primary mental skill that keeps you pushing forward after losing a few points in the final set is mental toughness.
Mental toughness helps you bounce back after losing a set. Mental toughness enables you to deal with challenging weather, surfaces, or adverse conditions, allowing you to focus on playing point by point.
Carlos Alcaraz defeated Andrey Rublev 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 in the quarterfinals of the 2025 Cincinnati Open. Temperatures were high. The match was intense, with both Alcaraz and Rublev hitting 27 winners and nearly winning the same number of points. Statistically, there was little to separate Alcaraz and Rublev.
In the end, Alcaraz played tough, focused tennis, while Rublev made uncharacteristic mistakes. Ultimately, it was Alcaraz’s mental toughness that helped him outlast Rublev and advance to the semifinals.
ALCARAZ: “Today, I maintain the positive thoughts. Lost focus a few times, but I stayed there, strong mentally, and that’s what I’m most proud about. I’m playing a third set, accepting that it’s going to be a tough battle, and I love that. It was extreme conditions, but I’m just really happy to be able to live these kinds of experiences.”
In high-stakes tennis, matches are often won not just by ability but in conjunction with the most crucial skill of mental toughness.
Alcaraz understood the final set was going to be a significant challenge. Yet, when the match reached its most demanding stages, Alcaraz made the conscious choice to respond with mental toughness.
Mental toughness was the reason Alcaraz was able to focus under pressure, stay poised during momentum swings, cope with extreme conditions, remain present, and battle for each point.
You never have to play perfect tennis to win, but you must be mentally tough.
Now, it’s essential to understand that mental toughness is not gifted to a small percentage of elite players. Rather, mental toughness is a skill that you can learn.
When you commit to developing mental toughness in tennis matches by consciously honing the skill, you will make a significant leap in your tennis game.
3 Strategies to Stay Mentally Tough in Close Matches
1. Train Your Mental Game
Nothing magically happens in tennis. You don’t just wake up one day with a crushing serve — you built it through countless hours of practice and repetition. The same is true for mental toughness. It’s not an ability reserved for elite players who were “born with it”; rather, it’s a skill you can train and develop. One way to do this is through visualization, where you picture yourself handling pressure points with confidence.
Another is practicing mindfulness, which keeps you in the present moment instead of worrying about the score or possible outcomes. You can also add “mental reps” into your practices by simulating pressure situations, such as serving at deuce or playing out tie-breakers with intensity. The more often you prepare mentally in training, the more natural mental toughness in tennis matches becomes when it truly matters.
2. Choose Your Response
A big part of mental toughness comes from understanding that you always have a choice in how you respond. While you can’t control your opponent, the weather, or even a questionable line call, you do control your attitude and your next action. In high-pressure moments, it helps to ask yourself: “What response gives me the best chance to succeed right now?”
By pausing and making a conscious choice, you prevent emotions like frustration, panic, or anger from taking over. You can also use reset routines such as deep breathing, bouncing the ball before serving, or repeating a positive cue to yourself. These actions center your mind and body, allowing you to approach the next point with clarity instead of carrying the weight of the last mistake. Players who consistently choose their response demonstrate the essence of mental toughness in tennis matches and give themselves the best chance to close out tight sets.
3. Reframe the Game
The way you perceive a close match has a powerful effect on how you perform. Many players enter tough battles with fear — fear of choking, of letting people down, or of failing when it matters most. But you can reframe that same situation as an opportunity.
Instead of thinking, “I can’t mess this up,” shift your perspective to, “This is my chance to prove how tough I can be.” By viewing pressure moments as opportunities rather than threats, you free yourself to compete with energy and confidence. Even if you don’t play perfect tennis, you can still come out on top by embracing the challenge and showing resilience point by point. This shift in perspective is one of the most effective ways to build long-term mental toughness in tennis matches.
FAQ – Mental Toughness in Tennis Matches
Q1: What is mental toughness in tennis matches?
A: Mental toughness in tennis matches is the ability to stay focused, resilient, and confident under pressure. It means keeping your composure when the score is tight, bouncing back after mistakes, and continuing to fight for each point regardless of the circumstances.
Q2: How do professional players build mental toughness?
A: Professional players build mental toughness in tennis matches the same way they build physical skills — through consistent training. They use visualization, mindfulness, reset routines, and simulated pressure drills in practice. Over time, these habits help them stay calm and composed when the match is on the line.
Q3: Can younger or recreational players develop mental toughness?
A: Yes. Mental toughness is not just for elite athletes. Any player can learn it with practice. By training your mind, choosing your responses in difficult moments, and reframing pressure as opportunity, you can improve your resilience and confidence during matches.
Q4: Why is mental toughness more important than skill sometimes?
A: Skill, fitness, and technique are essential, but without mental toughness, those qualities often break down under pressure. Many close matches are decided not by who has the better strokes but by who can stay composed, adjust, and execute in the most critical moments.
Q5: What’s one quick way to improve mental toughness during a match?
A: One of the fastest ways is to use a reset routine after every point. Take a deep breath, bounce the ball, or repeat a positive phrase like “next point, fresh start.” This simple act helps you stay present and prevents frustration from carrying into the next point.
Related Tennis Psychology Articles
- 5 Ways to Play Mentally Tough Tennis
- How To Mount Comebacks Late in Matches
- Dokic’s Mental Toughness Sparks Comeback
- Download our a FREE Tennis Psychology Report
*Subscribe to The Tennis Psychology Podcast on iTunes
*Subscribe to The Tennis Psychology Podcast on Spotify
Composed Athlete Program
“The Composed Athlete” audio and workbook program helps you gain a competitive edge by improving your composure in competition. Learn the best ways to let go of mistakes and overcome frustration and dwelling.
“My son Jake has struggled with composure for as long as I can remember. He is doing the Composed Athlete program and is about half-way through. He had the biggest, most stressful wrestling tournament of his season this past weekend. I have never seen him demonstrate such composure and sportsmanship -ever. I was so happy I was fighting back tears. It’s been a long and frustrating road. I am so thankful for your program.”
~Laura Grogan
Dr. Patrick Cohn is a tennis psychology expert with Peak Performance Sportss, LLC. Learn cutting edge mental strategies based on 35+ years of experience in mental performance coaching with professional to junior competitive tennis players. He is the author of The Mental Edge for Tennis 2.0 audio and workbook program.