Mindset to Win Tennis Matches

The successive players focus on winning points and executing killer shots whereas the losing players often are avoiding failure. What distinguishes two players after a couple of sets is solely the mental attitude.When a player’s mind is clouded with doubt in his or her game is rendered powerless. Matches are defined by a very fine line of confidence or doubt and thus having a winning mindset is essential prior to achieving a winning record.

“The ideal attitude is to be physically loose and mentally tight.” –Arthur Ashe, winner of US Open (1968), Australian Open (1970) and Wimbledon (1975).

How to prepare yourself mentally for a tennis match

• Control your thoughts
To win a match, your thoughts as a player should be positive and you should not let negativity cloud your focus. You should realize that the mind controls the body and the mind is unlimited. If you feel tensed, you will react in involuntary ways and compromise your ability to reason. An enthusiastic mentality should be upheld throughout the tennis match no matter how disappointing the score is.

• Manage your emotions
In a tennis match, being overly excited or under excited are both bad for your game. Being overly excited might make hasty and un-calculated decisions while being under excited might cause you to not play to the best of your abilities. Thus, a poised attitude should be upheld throughout your game.

• Refine your focus
Your mind’s focus should entirely be in the game at hand. In the case of losing concentration due to uncontrollable factors like time, you should consider the reversion of your attention back to the game. When your mind is clarified by focusing on the current state of the game,you have a better chance of perceiving your opponent’s next move. This is an effectual skill in a tennis match as visualizing your opponent’s next move will aid you to choose better techniques to tackle him or her.

• Improve on your confidence
To be the victor in a tennis match, you should have the power to execute various tennis strategies well under pressure.The players that are mentally tough remain calm and confident in any challenge and have the upper hand when it comes to the match. Lack of confidence will cloud your judgments and reactions resulting in time and energy loss.

• Ignore the intangible factors of the game
On the tennis court, many factors can arise that will affect your overall game as a player. It is up to you to identify the factors of the match that you can control and ignore those that are out of your control. For example, you cannot control a harsh crowd of supporters or the abilities of your opponent. Instead, you can control how much focus you give to these intangible factors. If you focus more on these intangible factors, you are bound to get de-motivated in the game.

Through the management of your own thoughts, you can take on any kind of challenge with sheer confidence. These mind tips should be incorporated into your regular training schedule to improve on the ability to apply them in the actual matches. These techniques will turn you into a pro-active player with a boosted level of visualization and efficiency. Once you get to realize your mental strengths and weaknesses, you will play tennis to the peak of your abilities.

This article was written by Rob Dunfey. Rob is the founder of TennisProNow.com which has over 5,000 certified tennis instructors throughout the United States that can meet students at any public tennis court.