5 Reasons Tennis Players Choke in Matches

Tennis Psychology

Why Do Players Under Perform?

What’s the number one mental game skill tennis players want to learn about?

According to my tennis psychology survey, you and other tennis players want to learn how to play as well in matches as you do in practice.

I was not surprised… One of my goals as a mental coach is to help you play up to your potential in competition. By potential, I mean perform in matches as well as you do in practice.

If you want to play up to your potential in matches, you first have to uncover what’s holding you back mentally. Unfortunately, the answer is not simple. I know of many reasons players under perform in matches.

The top reasons you might underperform in matches include:

  • Ineffective practice or not practicing in a manner that helps you play.
  • Getting trapped in the mechanics of the game and thus practice stroke when you play.
  • Playing for the wrong reasons such as not wanting to embarrass yourself.
  • Fear of failure or tightening up and not playing freely.
  • Worry about letting others down if you don’t play up to their expectations (parents take note here).
  •  And many other reasons…

I thought this was a great topic for my new tennis confidence video show I’ll be starting very soon….

In the videos, I’ll discuss several reasons why tennis players can’t play as well in matches as they do in practice. And I’ll give you solid mental strategies for overcoming these mental blocks.

One more topic:

Do you want the fast track to improving your mental game?

If you prefer one-on-one coaching with a mental game expert, I can help. I realize most people can’t afford to work with me one-on-one.

If you want the personal attention of working with me without the big cost, I thought of one solution….

Would you like to participate in small group mental coaching sessions (two on one or three on one)? This way, you can still get the personal attention, but at a fraction of the cost of one-on-one coaching.

Just an idea. If you are interested in small group coaching, please shoot me an email and tell me you want more details.

And don’t worry, you can participate in mental coaching for tennis from anywhere in the world as long as you can access a conference line.


*Subscribe to The Tennis Psychology Podcast on iTunes
*Subscribe to The Tennis Psychology Podcast on Spotify


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