Let’s face it, some tennis players have mental toughness while others allow their mind to interfere with peak performance on the tennis court.
Many tennis players just don’t realize the importance of their mental game strength. What are the top signs your mental game is preventing your from performing to your potential on the tennis court?
I’ll share with you the top 8 signs your mental game is getting in the way of performing your best on the court…
Here’s my top 8 signs:
(1) You perform way better in practice matches or in practice than on in tournaments. Your swing feels tighter and jerkier in tournaments compared to practice at your home court. This is the number one reason tennis players contact me!
(2) Your pre-match jitters do not go away after the first game of the first set. You continue to feel anxious, tight, or have a knot in your stomach well into the start of the first set.
(3) You worry too much about making mistakes and not hitting bad shots. Fear of failure cause you to try and avoid double-faulting or hitting bad shots. During the match, all you can see or think about is bad shots or losing points.
(4) One bad game or set cause your confidence to crumble. Your high expectations get in the way because you get frustrated quickly or lose confidence after losing a couple games in row.
(5) Your tennis stroke feels controlled because you focus too much on technique or how to hit perfect shots. You over-control your stroke because you want to win or beat others so badly.
(6) You get easily frustrated when not playing up to your expectations or start to play protective when you get a lead in the set. Your comfort zone causes your mind misfire when either playing better than or worse than expected.
(7) You have trouble focusing in the moment because your mind is too occupied with results. You fail to focus on one point at a time because you are over concerned with the outcome of the match.
(8) You focus too much on what others think about your tennis game and can’t focus fully on hitting good shots. Your self-esteem (how you feel about yourself) waivers when you think you are not getting approval from others.
If you identify with any of the signs above, you might benefit from sports psychology strategies for tennis players. The strategies used in the psychology of tennis can help you identify mental roadblocks and improve your consistency in matches or tournaments!