- IT IS TRUE THAT DEVELOPING THE STROKES and learning the strategies discussed in the previous chapters will give you an edge over your opponents. However, tennis is also a gritty mental sport, and if you are not focused and resilient, you will lose matches that you should win based on your strokes and knowledge. You need to be both mentally strong to stay determined and mentally positive so you compete in an emotionally elevated and energetic manner. Rafael Nadal, considering the importance of psychology in tennis, wrote, “Tennis is, more than most sports, a sport of the mind; it is the player who has those good sensations on the most days, who manages to isolate himself best from his fears and from the ups and downs in morale a match inevitably brings, who ends up being world number one.”(1) While you might not aspire to be “world number one,” your tennis goals are much more likely to be accomplished if during your matches you can remain focused, stay positive, and think clearly in the heat of the battle. (page 283)
- Anxiety’s effect on your level of play is largely based on your perception. Embrace the mindset that you are lucky to be healthy and playing a worthy competitor in a sport that you enjoy. Feelings of gratitude will stimulate a key part of the brain that lowers stress. Also, it is helpful to develop a wider perspective of the game and view your tennis career as an evolving process of learning, adventure, and self-discovery. The more you can fuel your performance with feelings of introspective enthusiasm and positive self-development, the more relaxed and better you will play. (page 289)