It is so important to understand how your mind and body work together when you are playing a match. If you can remind yourself of something that will help your body correct the mistake that just happened, you will avoid making the same errors over and over again. My advice is to adjust where…
After Pete Sampras won the U.S. Open in 2002, the game of tennis had evolved into more baseline play and less movement towards the net. However, that has begun to change, and I believe that the recent success of Carlos Alcaraz will be the catalyst to turn things back in the direction of the…
Confidence is a big factor when you are playing a match. We have all seen players at the professional level suddenly have problems making a specific shot after an error. Often, the serve seems to be the most common trouble area. However, your forehand, backhand, volley or overhead can all succumb to the lack…
Things are not always going to go right on the tennis court. Even so, it is a great idea to tell yourself something positive between points or just before starting a point. Phrases like “let’s go”, “you’ve got this”, “come on”, “yes” are all good, short positive self talk ideas. If you make an…
Tennis is a multifaceted sport. Putting everything together is not easy. Once you get to be a good striker of the ball and understand the combinations of shots that can help win the point, the outcome of the match basically comes down to the mental aspect. The best players are great at experiencing difficulty…
Most coaches tend to scout and find out their opponent’s weaknesses, and then tell their player how to play based on that information. But it is better to know your own strengths and weaknesses, play your game, and focus on the ball. Pay attention to what the opponent is doing and make slight adjustments…
Whenever two players step on the singles court for a tennis match, there is a favorite. Usually, the favorite is the person who is ranked higher or has the better career results. However, there is a very strange thing that happens in tennis, more than any other sport: the better player does not always…
It’s hard for us to understand how our attitude can play such a big role in the outcome of a tennis match. Most players believe that if they hit the ball well, use the right strategy, and take advantage of their opportunities, they will win. However, if the other player is matching your hitting…
Tennis needs to be automatic, instinctive, and repetitive. Unfortunately, the thoughts going through your head when you are playing make it very difficult for any of those things to happen. Keeping the most simple ideas in your head can help get your reactions to become less complicated from all the “noise” that naturally occurs, especially…
I have written about this idea in several different ways in the past. It seems too simple for it to actually work. However, Rafael Nadal just won his 22nd Grand Slam and his 14th French Open by basically doing this better on more of the points than his opponents. When analyzing his last match…