You might have the best technique and fitness possible, but other factors are involved with playing well. How you control your emotions on court and level out your temperament is also a key element.
Your tennis coach can possibly help you in the respect, but he will probably refer you to a more qualified consultant dealing in emotions.
Every tennis player has a base level of satisfaction that results in your attitude towards the game and not from your playing level. The ultimate you want to achieve is to not let short term results affect you, but that you are happy with the full result.
Opponents will target players that show their emotions and let their emotions control how they play. It is always beneficial not to show your hand in this respect and play your cards close to your chest.
Satisfied Player v Unsatisfied Player
A satisfied player shows the following characteristics:-
Plays because he enjoys the game, is disciplined, is highly self-motivated, is not worried about mistakes as he knows they are part of the game, enjoys practice and the process of improvement, likes to solve problems on the court.
An unsatisfied player normally:-
Plays for success and recognition, has to be pushed, wants quick results, loses motivation easily, doesn’t like to practice, just plays for the result, problems make him anxious.
So the key for long lasting satisfaction playing tennis is to develop as many of the positive attitudes as possible. Some of them will be easier than others to take on board, but addressing some is better than none.
Action Steps For Your Game
Developing the correct attitude and mindset is an ongoing process. In sports psychology the focus can tend to be short-term mental strategies like visualization and positive affirmations. These can be helpful, but they are not the whole answer for success on the court. That can only be achieved when a player is satisfied when he is playing.
Corrections To Help Your Game
- Spend a good amount of time reviewing and thinking about the satisfied player characteristics and try to limit the unsatisfied ones.
- For every attitude, gauge yourself in comparison.
- It is a good idea to write the attitudes down and place them in your tennis bag so you can easily refer to them.
- Consistently remind yourself to focus on the right attitudes while on the court for your next games coming up.
- Try to solve your problems actually on the court, if you try it you never know you might like it.
The biggest message in all this is to never let a bad short or mistake affect you, they are part of the game and every player makes them, even the top pro’s. Let the moment go and erase the short term pain instantly from your memory. That way it will not affect your whole game just a small part of it.
