Do You Use Tennis Psychology?

"A positive attitude can really make dreams come true...it did for me."
—Zina Garrison, tennis pro, after getting to the finals of Wimbledon

"I still feel nervous playing Champions tour-type tennis events. I go out there wanting to perform well before people, even if the crowd is small. I don't want to lay an egg."
—Tennis Legend John McEnroe

"I learned a lot from those two tournaments. I think you can learn more from disappointment. If you lose something, you definitely learn a lot more from it than from winning."
—Martina Hingis, after losing the French Open

You can see that top tennis professionals all know how critical tennis psychology is to their success. The smart players know it, use it to their advantage, and are continually learning more about it. When I was the Mental Game Coach for the Israeli Davis Cup Team, we spent considerable time on this aspect of their training.

Here are seven major ways you can utilize tennis psychology to help you improve faster, and create sustainable success in tennis.

1. Tennis Psychology Helps You Play Within Yourself. This means you play as you normally do – nothing special, nothing above your normal ability. Have faith that your normal game will be good enough to win. You can't play shots you don't own. Stay within your capabilities.
   
   
2. Tennis Psychology Helps You Trust In Your Self. Allow your training to take over. Have confidence in yourself and come from a mental place of strength. Don't hope for an easy match – strive to be a strong person. Have faith that your practice and training will carry you through. Don't analyze or second-guess yourself.
   
   
3. Tennis Psychology Helps You Place Things Into Perspective. You should set learning goals for each match. Determine that you will learn something new about the opponent, about yourself as a competitor and about performing. Then work the process and let winning take care of itself.
   
   
4. Tennis Psychology Helps You Visualize Success. Before you can win on the court, you must win in your mind. A simple truth, but more players could follow it. Learn this skill for use before and during your matches.
   
   
5. Tennis Psychology Helps You Focus Your Mind. You can't play if you can't concentrate. You could say this is almost the most important factor in tennis success. Learn the secrets of tennis psychology and your mind will do what you want it to.
   
   
6. Tennis Psychology Helps You Stay Poised Under Pressure. It's natural to feel nervous, agitated or afraid under pressure, but knowing tennis psychology can help you stay grounded and focused.
   
   
7. Tennis Psychology Helps You Train Mental Toughness. As you go higher up in your tennis career, you will encounter more pressure situations. For this you need mental toughness. Tennis psychology can teach you this vital skill.

So there you have it, a complete overview of tennis psychology. Good luck to you in improving your mental game.