Game Changer: What If the Mental Game Was Your Best Shot?

December 2, 2014 | By Rob Polishook
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What are the first things we do when things are not going the way they should be? Let’s say in tennis tournaments you are not getting the results you would like. In fact, you just played in the quarterfinals of a tournament and lost in three hard-fought sets. However in the second set, you held three match points, but didn’t convert! Ugh! I bet you know the feeling … in fact, you can probably feel it now?

So after a few days, you head back to the court. Time does amazing things in terms of healing the pain. Now you continue to train, doing the same things and again expect different results. Working on the forehand, tweaking it so it’s just right this time. Wasn’t it Einstein who suggested this is the definition of insanity?

Mentally, the post-match refrain is similar … you “need to work harder.” If you had done this or that, the match would not have turned! In fact, some are telling you have not been working hard enough! Sure this is familiar … isn’t it always the case if we come up short, we didn’t work hard enough? Well, maybe you did work hard enough? Just maybe working harder isn’t the answer?

I’d like to suggest five things you can do that will help you improve without picking up a racket. These things will not take much physical effort; however, they require you reading a few workouts from my book Tennis Inside the Zone: Mental Training Workouts for Champions. The workouts in the book focus on the mental game and will help you relax, slow down, and play calmer under pressure. However, they will take some time. I’m going to suggest we take a step back, stop pushing or pulling. Now is the time to “let go” and untangle the knots which are holding you back. This requires dedicated time to the mental game.

First Workout: What does it take to win: Awareness and the five A’s.
If I didn’t know better, Roger Federer has been reading this workout. He has reframed his game to be more aggressive and come to the net more both from the baseline, and serve and volleying. What would you change about your game if you looked at it more objectively? What is the number one thing that could help?

Second Workout: How to play in the moment? It’s as easy as breathing!
How many times have you played and become overwhelmed when your opponent made a questionable call? Or, you played someone you expected to beat? The list goes on and on. Playing in the moment and staying present is key. This only happens if you can stay calm rather than spiraling out of control. Mike Bryan once told me when he gets nervous, “he always focuses on his breath.”

Third Workout: You cannot be serious! Seven steps to regaining your focus.
It happens all the time. Can you remember a time that your focus was spot on and then something happened which we don’t expect and there goes the focus! The key with concentration is not maintaining it 100 percent, but knowing when you lost it and how to get it back quickly.

Fourth Workout: I’m better! How could I lose?
Who hasn’t said this before? But you still lost? Why? Usually your focus was in the wrong place. Another funny thing about concentration and tennis … it’s not enough to concentrate! You must concentrate on the right thing! Hint: What you can control.

Fifth Workout: Sweet victory … seven questions to ask after a win (or a loss).
Many people think once the match is over you forget about it and go to the next one. I believe that’s the time whether you won or lost that all of the learning can take place. In fact, that’s when the match starts with your post-match analysis. This workout is a great tool to help you analyze the match in an objective manner, learn from it, and incorporate your areas of improvement going forward.

Certainly over the previous year, you have put a lot of sweat and tears into your game, and you should be congratulated for that. Now, for 2015, let’s purposely incorporate the mental component. Much of this work can be done off the court with the key focus being on not necessarily working harder, rather working smarter! If you are looking for a great example on the professional tour … just look no further than Roger Federer.


Rob Polishook
Founder and Director of Inside the Zone Sports Performance Group

Rob Polishook, MA, CPC is the founder of Inside the Zone Sports Performance Group. As a mental training coach, he works with athletes helping them to unleash their mental edge through mindfulness, somatic psychology  and mental training skills. Rob is author of 2 best selling books: Tennis Inside the Zone and Baseball Inside the Zone: Mental Training Workouts for Champions. He can be reached by phone at (973) 723-0314, by e-mail rob@insidethezone.com, by visiting insidethezone.com, or following on Instagram @insidethezone. 

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