Being in Control of your Performance
What is the core characteristic of mental toughness? The term “mental toughness” is used by a lot of tennis players…
Everyday you watch or listen to professional tennis players, or commentators talk about mental toughness. As much as the term “mental toughness” is used, athletes and coaches still have difficulty elaborating on mental toughness and how to develop it.
So what exactly is mental toughness?
Mental toughness is the competitive mindset that you are never “out of it” in a tightly contested competition.
In other words, when you are mentally tough, you will compete to the very end.
You may not win the match, but you will hustle, scrap, and give it your all to the very end.
Conceding victory is not an option.
A mentally tough tennis player will let go of first-set mistakes and look for ways to impact the game in the second set.
Mental toughness is not a switch you flip. If you never practice mental game skills, you cannot expect to be mentally tough when the match is on the line.
Mental toughness is a skill….
You foster mental toughness when you push hard in practice, especially when tired. You develop mental toughness when you continue working on a skill you have difficulty mastering.
You build mental toughness when you visualize successfully competing at your peak under adverse match conditions. Tennis players at all levels can benefit tremendously from mental toughness training.
Mental toughness is not a skill reserved elite players or national-level competitors. Mental toughness is a skill all tennis players at every age can learn and improve.
Mental toughness training takes commitment. Not only should you learn how to develop mental toughness from a Mental Game Coach, but it is also necessary to train those skills in practice.
Then and only then will you be on your way to becoming a mentally tough peak performer.
How to be a Mentally Tough Athlete
Compare and contrast your mental game when you are performing well versus not performing well. What are the differences in your mindset and performance?
Did you feel confident, locked in, in control, and composed when performing well? These are all characteristics of mental toughness.
How did you respond to mistakes or adversity, such as a bad line call by your opponent? Did you stay composed and move on after mistakes? Another quality of mental toughness. You want to work on these qualities.
When not doing well, did you lack confidence, feel easily distracted, not in control, and frustrated with your performance? Did you “lose it” when faced with adversity, such as being down in the competition?
If so, this is the reason why you want to improve mental toughness. You want more days in which you feel confident and locked in!
Related Tennis Psychology Articles
- Stay Mentally Tough During Matches
- Iga Swiatek Attributes Mental Toughness to her French Open Win
- How Mental Toughness Training Helps Tennis Players
- Download our a FREE Tennis Psychology Report
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