Staying Motivated During a Season Rough Patch
What do you do when you go through a rough patch during the tennis season?
Have you ever thought while going through a slump, “I’m no good, why should I even try?”
How did you respond to poor play? Did you put in more effort or lose motivation to practice and play?
Some players refuse to practice… After all, if you have lost your touch, why waste your effort in practice…
As a result of this approach, you enter matches unprepared and a whole lot less confident…
And so the cycle continued… bad match, loss of confidence, half effort in practice, unprepared for matches, bad match…
Performance in tennis often is like a roller coaster. There are many ups and downs throughout the season. When your play drops off, sometimes you feel you will never get out of your funk.
You have two options when you are not playing well:
- Let up on the gas and go through the motions often extending the duration of your slump or…
- Find a way to dig yourself out of the hole by increasing your effort and discover new ways to improve your game mentally and physically.
Caroline Wozniacki is a Danish professional tennis player who was ranked No.1 in the world for 67 weeks.
Wozniacki is currently ranked No. 7 and had a slow start to the 2014 season.
Prior to the BNP Paribas WTA Finals, Wozniacki stated she rebounded from a less than stellar start of the season by continuing to work hard in practice.
WOZNIACKI: “I just focused really hard on what I was supposed to do out there. I was practicing really hard… The results came.”
Wozniacki identified the key to playing well in tennis is to continue to believe through the ups and downs of a long season.
WOZNIACKI: “I think you always have to go through ups and downs even in the juniors… Sometimes even that brings you down even further whenever you don’t do the result that you want. I just always believe in myself. I always keep working hard, because I know that even though sometimes I hit a rough patch, it’s going to change and your luck is going to go the other way and all of a sudden you’re going to feel out there on court like you can’t lose.”
Wozniacki stated pushing through hard times is essential to busting out of a slump.
WOZNIACKI: “When you don’t [play well], you just have to keep grinding out there, as they say. A lot of people give up when it gets tough. That’s when you have to go that one step further. That’s where all the good things happen.”
Try these tips to maintain your confidence through a slump:
- Tip #1: Understand that there will be ups and downs during the tennis season–and day to day. It’s not healthy to demand peak performance every time you step on the court.
- Tip #2: Commit to a high level of practice intensely no matter what the circumstances. Working hard during a slump will give you the momentum to get to the peak again. And don’t forget to find out how your mental game might play a role in a slump.
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