The Miami 2009 tennis tournament proved to be very exciting and Victoria Azarenka, Juan Martin Del Potro, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray did very well here.

What do these great tennis players have in common in their mental game that enabled them such success?

It’s the power of belief.

They all believed (or just started to believe) that they CAN win and beat the higher ranked opponent.

Juan Martin Del Potro Celebrating His First Win Against Nadal (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

Juan Martin Del Potro really believed that he could beat Nadal this time. He played Nadal 4 times before and always lost in straight sets.

When I watched Del Potro in Indian Wells two weeks before when he lost to Nadal 4-6, 2-6, he really didn’t seem to believe he could win.

He seemed intimidated by Nadal, had too much respect for him and really didn’t attack Nadal as he should.

But Del Potro learned something very important from this loss.

He learned that when he plays his own game well, Nadal will not just blast him off the court.

He realized that Nadal is just a human, that he can be neutralized by consistently playing to his backhand, that he can be attacked to the forehand side and will often just defend and that with smart tactics, it is possible to outplay Nadal.

That’s why the Miami match was completely different: Del Potro played the ball. He didn’t play the “big name”. He focused on his game plan and didn’t even falter in the final set tie-break. (more…)

by Alexander Claussen

You and your opponent just walked out on the court. You warm-up, and the match starts. You start off the match with an error in the net, and a “C’mon, right here,” rings in your ears. You let it go. Next point, your opponent says loudly the same phrase just as you begin your ball toss. You double-fault.

It is one thing if your opponent is trying to pump himself up, but I don’t think this is the case. During the many years of my playing of tennis, I have encountered players whose strategies heavily rely on this concept, gamesmanship (and cheating too).

And of all the cases I have encountered, it wasn’t the actual acts of gamesmanship that won the match, but the overreaction of the victim player.

If you are an active player, you’ve probably experienced players like this many times. Whether it’s stalling, questioning every line call, or like the example presented above, we all need to learn how to handle gamesmanship that leads to on-court meltdowns and ultimately the match.

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I am a tennis player that has a huge passion for the game. I would play it everyday if I had the chance.

Recently, i have been in a slump. i went to Regionals for my school team and I was seeded number two.

My draw looked like a ticket into State. I rolled through my first match 6-0, 6-0. My second match however was a completely different story. i had beaten this girl before and she had been an easy competitor, although I came out quite nervous because of what was at stake.

The match went on and i lost the second set. My mind was in the gutter by then and there was no getting it out. Needless to say, I lost the match, my opportunity to go to State was gone.

My main school coach never talked to me once during the match, although I did get a few comments from the assistant coaches. I was disappointed in myself, and i thought that I had disappointed everyone else in the entire world too.

i definitely learned a lot from that match, about myself and my game. Since then, I feel like my mind is always negative and extremely stressed. And I am naturally a very bubbly person. I feel like I cannot improve.

I have a great regular coach but with limited funds I rarely get to talk to him. What can I do to improve, whether it be in the gym, out on the court, or mentally?

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How to handle the kind of pressure when in a tournament situation, a player is 4-5 up serving, and fails to finish the match due to what we call “elbow”?

The player gets so tensed up that he or she can’t perform at the level they suppose to.

Also; when you have players that are naturally tensed up players, how you teach them to train more relaxed, and then apply that skill in a tournament setting?

The reason why the players get tense when serving for the match is because they don’t want to lose this opportunity. If they miss the chance, they will feel very bad. (that is only their opinion – in reality, there is only a probability of winning and not a guarantee)

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I have a question…. I am a freshmen at my high school. I am on the tennis team and my current spot is #9. I play very well with my friend who is in the #2 spot.

I can volley and serve really well. But when I try to play a match (exhibition) I seem to always lose! I tense up after I make the mistake and make errors with even the simplest of volleys!

Is there a way I can keep myself from tensing up and losing and keep my mind focused on the game?

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I have a problem with confidence and doing my best, because whenever I actually try (I usually play by putting as little effort as possible) I feel depressed when I lose or mess up.

That’s because failing even at my best makes me feel as if my best is nothing, that is why I put little effort so when I mess up or lose I don’t feel as bad because it’s not my best. Help!

Let’s see where this comes from “because failing even at my best makes me feel as if my best is nothing”.

The game of tennis is not so much about winning or losing especially if you are a competitive player. Most players lose all the time. (go on ATP Tour website and check win / loss ratio of a top 100 tennis player. You’ll see what I mean.)

It’s the long term accumulation of POINTS that pretty good determines who is good or not. So when you lose it doesn’t mean you are “nothing”. That’s just your very critical description of a loss.

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Hi, I’m a junior player who’s just started playing tournaments this year.

All my coaches as well as kids and my parents say I’m fantastic and could be top 5 in the nation if I could play that way in matches.

I used to play top kids in practice and beat them badly. But recently in a low level tournament, I lost to a kid who was EXTREMELY BAD:) he lost to alot of other kids who aren’t very good and I lost to him 6-4 6-3.

It seems as thought I am the weakest and dumbest tennis player ever mentally and during matches; I’ve never come back and won from a set down. For me, it’s either win in straight sets or lose in straight sets.

My question is do you have any tips for me with my kind of tennis mental problem? Is there any way that I can overcome this mental weakness and be positive and relaxed during matches?

Cause I feel like I’m letting my coaches, parents, and myself down when I play like that.

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You may know that you “should” come to the net more often to finish the point but somehow you resist that and stick to the comfort of the baseline.

Why is that?

You resist coming to the net because you feel uncomfortable there. So you need to dig even deeper and ask yourself why do you feel uncomfortable at the net?

Some of the possible reasons are:

1. You don’t trust your volley and overhead skills.

This mistrust can be legitimate – meaning your net skills are really not that good and you make too many mistakes OR your net skills are actually good but your OPINION about them is negative.

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This is related to the previous article about losing to players you have never played before. The main reason is that you may worry and not believe in yourself when you play an unknown opponent.

I came across an interesting article which may give you even more information about worrying and the difference between men and women.

Why Women Worry So Much explains that women are more likely than men to believe that past experiences accurately forecast the future.

The main reason why our mind wants to predict the future is survival. It has been hardwired for millions of years to learn from dangerous situations and adapt.

What you need to do as a tennis player is to IGNORE the predictions.

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My son was MVP for three years in high school and had the most career wins of anyone in the state.

He was recruited, does great in conditioning and playing the others on the team. He wins against all but number one seed.

Yet when he goes to play other teams/individuals he is losing. It is so sad.

I just keep telling him how proud of him we are, but I know he is hurting. Coaches are great, but it sounds like his confidence is crashing. Help.

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