Staying Positive After Injury
Injuries are an unavoidable part in sports…
No sport is exempt from the injury bug, including tennis…
Tennis elbow, back strains, Rotator cuff issues, ankle sprains and patellar tendonitis are common injuries experienced by many players. Some of these injuries will prevent you from playing tennis for short or long periods of time.
Ironically, most tennis players find the mental strain from not competing can be far greater than the physical pain.
If you constantly dwell on the negative while injured, you will slow the healing process as well as hurt yourself mentally.
Tennis players who fully recover physically, may still have mental scars.
Staying positive while not competing in competitive matches has several benefits:
- You will be able to keep your spirits high.
- You will be motivated to come back stronger.
- You will increase your mental toughness for when you cross additional athletic obstacles.
Taking an injury timeout doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world and, with the right attitude and some work, an injury hiatus may actually jump start your tennis career.
Twenty-four year-old WTA player Sloane Stephens, credits an injury hiatus for giving her tennis career a boost.
After the 2016 Olympics, Stephens suffered an ankle injury which caused her to withdraw from the US Open, undergo surgery and sidelined her for a period of ten months.
Stephens has played some of her best tennis at the 2017 US Open and will surely see her ranking rise after advancing to her first US Open quarterfinal and her first quarterfinal at a Grand Slam since Wimbledon in 2013.
Upon returning to competitive tennis, Stevens has demonstrated a greater sense of composure, calm, mental toughness and a renewed enthusiasm for the game.
Stevens turned around a bad situation and found a way to use that injury time to her advantage.
STEPHENS: “I obviously wasn’t happy to get injured. That’s not anything that I ever wanted but it was a good lesson for me. It was a good time to be able to take a break, get my health in order [and] then reevaluate my whole entire situation—come back a better player and better person.”
Injuries stink… but if you use your time to reassess and come back stronger, you might be more mentally tougher and stronger than before injury.
Using Your Injury Timeout to Your Advantage:
Instead of whining about everything you cannot do while injured, find the things you can do to improve your tennis game.
Each week, create one goal you can work towards while not competing.
For example, your weekly goal may be:
- Strengthening your entire body
- Improving confidence
- Finding other hobbies outside of tennis
- Working on mental skills training
- Revamping your diet, etc.
Use your injury timeout to refresh and reset both your mind and body.
Pick a your copy of “Tennis Confidence” audio and workbook program so you can come back with a renewed mindset:
Learn Proven Mental Game Strategies To Perform Your Best On The Court!
Are you (or your players) performing up to your ability in competition?
Do you bring your best and most confident game to matches?
I often hear players complain about the following problems when they play in matches…
- “I get so tight or tense before matches that I can’t think straight or have any rhythm in my game.”
- “My confidence seems to disappear when I go from practice to matches and I don’t know why.”
- “I get so frustrated with hitting bad shots or with errors and it snowballs.”
- “I expect so much when I play that I unravel and lose confidence when the match does not go as planned.”
Successful tennis players have learned how to perform with ultimate confidence in tournaments.
If you are ready to improve your mental toughness and perform with ultimate self-confidence in matches, Tennis Confidence: Mental Toughness For Tournament Players can help you do this!
- Players: Learn how to take control of your confidence, focus your best, and win more close matches.
- Parents: Help boost your junior tennis player’s confidence for tournaments. Just load the program on your player’s IPod!
- Coaches: Boost your team’s confidence using simple, proven mental strategies.
- Instructors: Learn how to give your students the mental game advantage.
Use Tennis Confidence to help boost your mental toughness in tennis and discover powerful and proven mental game strategies that have helped professional athletes win!
Tennis Confidence: Mental Toughness For Tournament Players
What are mental game customers saying?
“She did really well with controlling her emotions during the matches today. We were very proud of her for not showing her frustrations during the match; I think that was a big accomplishment. She really looked in control of her emotions even when she double faulted or made mistakes. The changes we saw in her behavior in less than 24 hours were AWESOME! Thank you for your guidance!”
~Jennifer, Tennis Parent
“Since you last worked with AJ in early September, his National ranking has improved from 349 to 148. His tournament record at one point, since talking with you was 17-4, with 3 of the 4 being in third sets or tiebreakers and 2 of those matches being the same player, whom he has since beaten (you may recall he was on an 0-9 losing streak when we contacted you). His tie-breaker record is at least 90% through last weekend when he won the 18s District tournament with a semi and final match tiebreak win. Your help has definitely improved AJ’s results and his on-court demeanor has substantially improved.”
~Dawn Woodman, A.J.’s Mother
“I want to let you know that your “Tennis Confidence” CD program has been extremely helpful to me. I listen to the CDs in the car and the program is helping me overcome a lifetime of tournament performance Anxiety. Thank you!”
~Wing Yu, Tennis Player
Boost Your Self-Confidence in Tennis With Expert Mental Game Coaching!
Master mental game coach, Dr. Patrick Cohn, can help you overcome your mental game issues with personal mental game coaching.
You can work with Dr. Patrick Cohn himself in Orlando, Florida or via Skype, FaceTime, or telephone.
Call us toll free at 888-742-7225 (local: 407-909-1700) or contact us for more information about the different coaching programs we offer!
One-on-one mental game coaching with Dr. Cohn
What are our mental coaching students saying?
“Dr. Cohn did a great job working with my son Joe on his mental skills for tennis. He taught him the mental skills and discipline necessary to move to the next level. Thanks Doc!”
~Mike Withers, Joe Withers Father
“Maggie had such a great weekend. As always, after she works with you she just seems more grounded and focused. She’s less likely to look around and get distracted during her match. She’s more focused on one point at a time. Also, as a parent, I’ve learned to encourage her process goals and not outcomes. Consequently, she played well and won her first doubles match, upsetting a seeded team in a really really close match!”
~Katherine Johnson Cannata, Maggie’s mother
Leave a Reply