Mind Training for Tennis Tip 6

Mental Strength Wins Matches
http://www.tennispsychology.com

Tennis is one of the most mental sports in the world - that is, mental strength plays a huge part in determining who wins the match. It's not only mental strength that's important, but also mental stamina - as focusing mentally at the 6th deuce at 5-all in the 3rd set can be very difficult after nearly 3 sets of gruelling rallies in the hot sun.

Mental strength means being able to focus on each and every point throughout the entire match without any lapses - and this takes practice!

The closing stages of any set are classic danger times for losing concentration, as is the beginning of the 2nd set after you have won the first - so watch out for these. Hewitt, Agassi, Federer, Ferrero, Williams and Clisters - even the great players lose concentration at times, though their mental strength also wins them most of their matches as well (at the time of writing this article, anyway!).

Mental strength takes many forms however - for instance, it takes great mental strength to come back from a set down (and maybe even a break as well), as this shows that despite losing the set, your inner fire refuses to be dampened - in fact, losing the set often only strengthens your resolve to win the match. By comparison, lesser players surrender and are out of the tournament fairly quickly from this position.

So how do you build mental strength for matches? One of the best ways is to simply practice trying to win every single point when you practice, and I mean every single point. Practice first to 11 points in practice, so that you can get used to focusing for this length of time, and then expand these to first to 21, to develop your mental stamina further. Remember though - it doesn't matter whether you lose a point or not, it is whether you were 100% focused that really matters.

A mentally tough player who comes back from the brink to win can often play each point completely undaunted and unaffected by the previous points. This is one of the toughest but most important things to do on court - block out all the previous 'negatives' that can occur during a match, which often cause huge emotional outbursts and concentration loss. Classic things which need to be blocked out include:

• blown break point opportunities
• easy shots missed
• lost games which you should have won (or feel you should anyway!).
• bad calls from your opponent or umpire
  
  Focusing upon these events only destroys your spirits and your concentration - and usually blows the match. Block them out and only play (and think about) the point you are involved in - forget the past!
  
  

  Your resilience is also a huge factor in matches. How long are you willing to stay out there to win? No matter what happens and how far down you are in a match, you must never, ever believe that you are out of the match.
  
  

  Continue to believe in yourself and continue to hang in there - if you hang in long enough, your opponent may start to tighten up and make errors as they try to close the match out. Never say die and play each and every point as if your life depends upon it.

Remember also that it's not just a matter of whether you're physically ready to return your opponent's service - this is not good enough - it's whether you're 100% mentally focused to play the point (or not) that matters.

Tennis is a game of switch on, switch off concentration - where you focus during the point, and then relax in between the points - only to re-focus again as the next point is to begin. Make sure you never play a point without fully 100% switching on first.

Most of all, ensure you are no longer thinking about a previous point when you begin the next! As soon as a point is finished - it's modern history. Forget it and move on to the next point.

The mindset you need is to play each point as if it's the only point in the match. We never have the luxury of thinking cumulatively in tennis - because as soon as we do, we very quickly lose concentration.

Practicing and developing mental strength is very important - as it can help you to beat players who are technically better players than yourself! Yes, it's true, you can beat better players quite often.

For instance, how often do you see flashy players begin a match playing unbelievable levels of tennis - only to dissolve into a mass of frustration and unforced errors by the end of the match? Often! You see this commonly at any tournament, no matter how high the standard. This shows that the best hitters are not necessarily the mentally strongest - in fact, they rarely are. The great hitters usually rely on their awesome power to win points, but when the match gets close and the pressure builds up - they often crack like cookies!

Practicing tiebreakers can also be a great way to de-sensitize yourself to pressure, and toughen you up mentally, so you are able to continue to successfully execute your shots when the pressure is on. Tiebreakers are classic times in matches when players 'go into their shell' and stop playing with the same flair that got them there in the first place. This is a form of choking which often causes a player to play too safe.

I'm not saying, of course, that you should go for huge winners in tiebreaks - just play your own game to the best of your ability, unhindered by the pressure of the situation. This mentality can only be built up over time with experience and of lots of match play, both in tournaments and also in practice.

As a child Tiger Woods, the great golfer, used to practice his shots while his father would often drop the golf bag, cough loudly or make all kinds of noise during his shots, purely to help toughen his concentration up so that it could never be interrupted. It worked!

So begin working on developing more of your mental toughness in matches over the next 12 months - believe me, you will reap the benefits in the years to come.

"The Mind controls the body, and the Mind is Unlimited"

The best of success, Craig Townsend

 

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Mental Training Archive 19. The Vital Secret Your Opponent Doesn't Want You To Know (coming soon - click here to subscribe) 18. Handling Those Big Match Occasions new! 17. Winning Body Language In Matches 16. The Secret That Turned Federer's Career Around 15. Creating Momentum In Your Matches 14. The Secret To Mental Strength In Matches 13. Win Matches Through Your Attitude 12. Extract Mental Tips From The Greats 11. Why You Should Never Be Worried By Your Opponent's Talent 10. Develop Your Mental Strength In Practice 9. How To Win Matches You Should Not Win! 8. Playing Higher-Ranked Opponents 7. Winning When You Are Not Playing Well! 6. Mental Strength Wins Matches 5. Practicing Great, But Not Winning In Tournaments? 4. The Awesome Power Of Body Language In A Match 3. You Are Always Talking To Yourself On Court 2. The Zone 1. Visualization Will Increase Your Inner Belief

 

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