Improving Tennis Match Focus
Do you get sidetracked by distractions that happen during matches, such as an argument in an adjacent court or a bug pestering you?
I call these distractions external distractions. They can happen grab your attention and hurt your focus during a match.
I recently received a question about how to handle distractions during tennis matches from a junior player in California…
“How do I learn how to focus on the right things? For instance, when I am in a match, I tell myself that I should not think about distractions (like gnats buzzing around my head), but I can’t get it out of my head. Since I told myself not to think about this, this is all I think about and my game suffers.”
What’s the problem here?
This tennis player thinks too much about avoiding distractions. When you think about how not to be distracted on the court, what are you thinking about? Right, the distraction, itself.
You can separate everything you think about during a match into two categories:
- Stuff you think about that helps you execute your shots and play good tennis.
- Stuff you think about that does not help you play well and is distracting to your mission.
“Just don’t think about the bug, just don’t pay attention to the bug,” you say to yourself. If you are trying not to think about the bug flying around your head, what are you focused on? Exactly, the bug!
You never what to think about avoiding distractions when playing…
Instead, you want to think about what performance cues will help you execute shots.
For example, during a serve, you want to focus on these cues:
- planning the serve
- seeing a good serve in your mind
- proper set up and your routine
- proper ball toss
- trusting your stroke
You don’t want to give attention to the external distractions around you by trying to block them out of your mind!
Here’s the trick: external distractions fade into the background when you give 100% focus to the performance cues that help you execute your shots!
So, don’t try to avoid or block out distractions. Instead, focus 100% on executing your strokes and game plan.
If you want to learn all my mental game of tennis strategies, check out my new CD program:
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“Thank you for all the knowledge, tools, material, and guidance you have given me throughout this course. It was truly a great experience. I am looking forward to integrating this mental training system not only to students at the club, but as well bring this wonderful education outside to athletes that truly are committed, and strive towards reaching their peak performance.”
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What are tennis players saying?
“Danielle 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 on Danielle’s behavior in less than 24 hours were AWESOME! Thank you for your guidance!”
~Jennifer Alamo, Tennis Parent
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What are our mental coaching students saying?
“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
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