Unless you’re playing doubles, tennis is one of the few unique sports where every little bit of your success or failure on the court is directly impacted by how you perform. That’s intimidating! Mistakes are going to happen, and it’s important to know how you can minimize those mistakes so they don’t turn into bigger issues that will eventually lose a match.
Have you ever heard someone say something along the lines of, “He or she is good, but they don’t have that certain something that all the great players have?” Talent is great, and it is going to get you far, but when you reach the top levels of your field, everyone is talented. You need more than that to set yourself apart. You need that certain something. Being mentally tough is not easy, and just like working on your forehand, it’s a skill that needs to be honed with consistent practice.
How to Develop Mental Toughness
Here are some tips on how to develop mental toughness on the court.
Stay Positive
There is a lot of power in your words and thoughts. Some people may think it’s funny to see a tennis player talking to themselves during a match, but staying positive with encouraging words and phrases is a great way to keep yourself away from the problems that negative self-talk can bring.
It’s also helpful because nobody knows you better than yourself. If this has been a struggle in the past, then you know there are specific points in every match where you’re more susceptible to falling into the trap than others. To combat that, have some predetermined thoughts and phrases at the ready for you to repeat to yourself to help overpower whatever negative thoughts or feelings that are coming down the pike.
Don’t Get Ahead or Behind of Yourself
We can’t change what we did in the past, so it’s important to learn from whatever mistakes you made and move on from them. Nothing that you do right at this moment is going to make those errors go away, but if you keep letting them distract you, then it’ll negatively impact the future, too.
The same goes for the other side of the argument when things are going well. Don’t get ahead of yourself and start making assumptions – that’ll distract you from the task at hand, which is putting your best foot forward for that particular point.
Walk the Walk
Tennis is as much mental as it is physical. When you’re battling an opponent in a singles match, it’s very much like you’re playing chess against one another. We’re all human and give off certain feelings with the way we carry ourselves. If you’re showing that you’re feeling down or defeated, an opponent can sense that and start building momentum.
Don’t let that happen! Staying strong mentally and confident in your abilities needs to shine through for every single point throughout a match. Giving off the feeling of being in control of your own environment is crucial, and your opponent will also notice that.
Always Keep Pushing Forward
If you let negative thoughts into your mind, losing the actual match itself probably isn’t too far in the future. Until the last point is recorded and the last set is won, you should be carrying yourself with a confident and positive attitude. Will that always result in a victory? Probably not, but playing in this fashion will end up being more enjoyable, especially with knowing you gave the match everything you had.
5 Habits Mentally Tough Tennis Players Possess
Once you start developing mental toughness, here are five habits you’ll notice in yourself and other mentally tough players.
- They Never Stop Believing
The most mentally tough tennis players all have something in common: they believe in themselves. They are not just the best player out there – they know they are the best player out there. You’re good? They are better. You have skills? They have more. Whatever you can offer, they can offer more. It can come across as cocky or arrogance, but confidence is a necessary skill to develop.
Now, it should be noted that being confident and being a bad sport sometimes appear to be closely related. If you cross the line, you lose your edge. Being confident is not the same as being a bad team player, or about being a poor winner or loser. If you want to be the best, make sure you develop confidence, but leave all of the unsportsmanlike behavior out of your game.
- They Can Brush Off the Negative
No matter how good you are and how much you believe in yourself, sometimes you are going to make a mistake. That is just a fact. But what you do after you make that mistake determines your mental toughness. When the mentally tough player makes a mistake, they immediately brush it off. No, that is not entirely true. First, they learn from the mistake, and then they forget all about it.
So they messed up on their serve, they know what they did wrong, and they won’t make that mistake again. But they are certainly not going to let that mistake eat away at them. They have the rest of the game to show just how great they really are.
- They Never Say Die
The odds may be stacked against them, but that is okay. They still plan on winning. Great tennis players never give up. So they lost today, they will not lose tomorrow. Defeat does not discourage them — it pushes them to play harder in the next game.
- They Are Not Afraid to Take a Risk
Solid players are important, and they are talented. But the risk takers are the great players, and they are the players people remember after everything is said and done. There are players who dive to return balls, take risks, and are not afraid of making a mistake. These players might miss some shots that the solid players made because they are trying to do something incredible; however, they make up for it seconds later when they do something that makes everyone watching say, “Wow.”
It should be noted, though, that taking risks and not playing smart are two entirely different things. It’s good to take risks, but it is not good to play stupidly.
- They Know What They Want, and They Are Not Afraid to Work Hard for It
The mentally tough believe they are the best, but that does not mean they think they can go out on the court with no preparation. The greatest tennis players set goals for themselves, and then they work to reach those goals. They are out there practicing hours before and after everyone else. They train and condition. They watch other matches to pick up tips and scout competition. They are not going to let anyone have an advantage. They are the best, and they plan on staying that way.
If you want to be a pro at tennis, then it takes more than practice and talent. If you really want to succeed, you have to be mentally strong as well. When you play against great players, whether in a tournament, at tennis camp, or simply a pickup game at your local court, watch more than their skills — watch their attitude.
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