Mindful Tennis: 3 Ways Strengthen Your Mental Game on Court
After playing tennis for some time you may decide to take your game on the road, perhaps at a tournament, local leagues or some other competitive recreational format. As a USTA League player myself for many years, I can tell you first hand that casually rallying with a friend on court is TOTALLY different than an intense competitive tennis match.
It’s definitely more than ball striking happening on the tennis court. You have to bring more than just your A-game, you must also bring a strong mental game! In competition you may feel more nervous or other emotions, so you need to practice strengthening your mental game.
“Visualize how you want to feel, react and play”
The legend Venus Williams recently said “The work starts long before the match. Visualize how you want to feel, react and play.”
I truly believe practicing in what is termed “Mindful Tennis” is truly beneficial on and off the court.
There have been many times where I was well positioned to win a match (e.g. up a set and a break of serve) and it wasn’t my tennis that failed me. It was my lack of focus, frustration, negative thoughts, and lack of belief that greatly impacted the outcome of the match. But my practice of mindfulness has helped me train myself how to handle these moments better during matches.
Here are my tips on how to improve your tennis mental game!
“Why would I think about missing a shot I haven’t taken”
Stop Showing Emotion
Yelling, throwing rackets, negative self-talk are all examples of showing negative emotions during a match. Whereas fist pumping, screaming “Come-on!” or “Vamos!” are examples of displaying positive emotions. Whether it’s a negative or a positive display of emotion, it will likely lead to disturbance of your focus and concentration during a match. If I had to get rid of one of course, I would say definitely recommend to stop with the negative displays, as you are showing your opponent that you are bothered, which may make them feel more empowered during the match.
Think Maria Sharapova poker face. One of the many things I admired about her was her ability to give you mostly the same intensity and lack of emotion on court, no matter if she was winning or losing the match. She would yell “come-on” and show positive emotion, but I can’t remember her breaking a racket or getting down on her self in a negative way during tough moments in a match.
The point is practice maintaining the same level of zen and intensity during the match in order to increase your focus on the court.
Don’t Think About the Result
I feel like my tennis results improved when I did not go into matches thinking about the result of winning or losing. It’s definitely normal to get nervous before or during a tennis match and start having doubts or wondering “how can I win” and “I don’t want to lose.” The only thing I focus on is trying to play my best tennis. This is not say that I don’t care about winning or losing — as I definitely want to win every match that I play. But it’s not my set focus before a match. If you set a goal of trying to play your best tennis — that is fully swinging your racquet and going for your shots, not being tight out of fear or nervousness, the result will likely come!
Practice Maintaining Your Zen
Getting to a place of calm and focus is something that takes practice and does not come instantly. Just as you would take a basket of balls to the court to practice your serve, it will take time and practice. Here are some ways that I practice keeping my calm during a tennis match:
Reset after every point - Whether I make an unforced error into the net or hit a winning shot, I always move on to the next point. The match is not over, so there’s no need to celebrate a good shot or get angry about a bad shot.
Self Belief - practice self belief. When you have this confidence and self belief, it’s good for you and it's often something that you will exude, and your opponents will take notice!
Go for your shots, don’t play with fear - Swing your racquet freely and don’t think about missing your shots. One of my favorite quotes from Michael Jordan is “Why would I think about missing a shot I haven't taken.”